Federal and state roles in higher education and possible actions and priorities for the federal government with regard to research are considered. Federal sponsorship of research is directed to better inform policy-makers who share responsibilities for the national interest in higher education. Attention is directed to the following concerns: assumptions about the role of higher learning in American society; the national interest in and state responsibilities for higher learning; the strategies that could be proposed for exercising federal responsibilities; the possible contribution to those federal responsibilities of an increased understanding brought about through federally sponsored research; and the most desirable information reporting and research strategy that could be pursued from a federal perspective. Four of the roles that higher learning plays in American society are: the formal learning of the individual; the creation, organization, and dissemination of new knowledge; the socialization process for American adults; and a holding pattern for workers unable to fulfill employment aspirations. Federal responsibilities appropriate to higher learning include: insuring that the market environment of higher learning exhibit certain properties (e.g., equal access to higher learning); and providing opportunities for basic research. State governments are responsible for the creation and charter supervision of colleges and have some authority over the provision of education. Possible ways the National Institute of Education could promote federal and state effectiveness in higher learning and policy oriented research are suggested identifying every several years topics it wishes to emphasize. (SW)