This book reports on a project that addressed the question of what the federal government's role in postsecondary education ought to be. An executive summary concludes that federal policy should have three major objectives: fostering high-quality training, improving existing federal programs, and encouraging systemic reform. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 describes how postsecondary training is provided in the United States and the kinds of postsecondary training current federal programs were designed to support. Chapter 3 examines how well postsecondary training is being carried out and presents evidence that this system does not operate well. Chapter 4 describes several key features of training in four other countries: Australia, Britain, Germany, and Japan. Chapter 5 presents the general conclusions about whether a change in the federal approach to postsecondary training is needed. It discusses these issues: (1) if change is needed, what kinds of activities are most appropriately taken at the federal level; and (2) how can the federal government most effectively exercise its influence, given the limits on national policy in a system largely determined by state and local officials and private firms. Chapters 6-8 presents specific views on desirable changes in federal policies and programs--fostering high quality training, improving federal programs, and becoming an agent of change. Appendixes contain 221 references and an index. (YLB)