Background information on higher education for blacks in South Africa and a report on the University of the North is presented. While the English language universities in South Africa have emphasized academic freedom and autonomy and have been open to nonwhite students, the Afrikaans language universities have conformed to national policy and the social order and have been closed to blacks. In 1959, legislation established universities exclusively for blacks and governed by whites, based on a policy of separate development and a belief in fundamental racial differences. The growth of black consciousness and sensitivity toward differential and discriminatory practices is considered, along with confrontations that occurred between the State and the students of the University of the North. Findings are presented of a one-person judicial Commission of Inquiry (the Snyman Commission), which investigated management issues, the causes of disturbances at the University of the North and the Black Academic Staff Association. The Commission recommended: introducing a largely black governing council and authorizing joint responsibility of blacks and whites for teaching and administrative functions, allowing students to choose among universities, and eliminating differential salaries and conditions for black and white staff. The study commission's questionnaire items and answers are presented. (SW)