The Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), a national resource for policy and practice development in post-16 education and training, responds to a government White Paper on higher education's (HE's) future. LSDA believes that policy development across further education (FE) and HE sectors should be coordinated and that the government has not articulated a clear vision of FE colleges' role in HE delivery to provide a basis for development of their capacity; welcomes emphasis on establishing clear, distinctive missions for education providers across sectors and recognition that FE colleges will have a key role in delivering expansion in foundation degrees; supports proposals to strengthen foundation degrees by establishing them as the standard two-year HE qualification; recommends consideration of the most effective means of developing FE capacity; supports government commitment to fair access; welcomes review of ACCESS courses to modernize their criteria to make them more flexible and attractive to adult learners; is disappointed that the contribution research can play in FE college development and delivery of HE is not mentioned; welcomes creation of a "teaching quality academy" to support continuous professional development in HE; welcomes the commitment to developing improved ways to describe, measure, and record student achievement; supports knowledge transfer; and agrees government funding will continue as the major HE funding source, but believes additional sources are needed. (Contains 13 endnotes.) (YLB)