Five papers presented at the conference on "Higher Education: The Law and the 1980s in Perspective," held under the sponsorship of the Institute of Higher Education and the Center for Continuing Education of the University of Georgia, are reproduced in this document. Richard Thigpen discusses differences between legal factors affecting public and private educational institutions; the increasingly contractual nature of relations between colleges, their students, and their faculties; and the expansion of governmental and judicial jurisdiction over colleges and universities. Patricia Hollander reports on changing public policy regarding the education and employment of the handicapped and recommends reasonable efforts made in good faith to provide access to the handicapped. Henry Neal evaluates the status of immunity from personal liability for administrators, noting the importance of distinguishing between discretionary and non-discretionary functions. D. Parker Young analyzes court cases touching on student rights and the growing willingness of courts to intervene in such matters. N. Shelton Hand describes the impact of governmental regulation, financial exigency, and labor negotiation on employment practices in postsecondary education, and predicts challenges to federal regulations during the 1980s. (Author/PGD)