College curricula and instruction, differentiation, and innovation and change in American and Japanese higher education are discussed in 18 papers presented at the 1984 international seminars of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Higher education in three European countries is also addressed. Titles and authors include: "New Implications for the Educational Function of the Japanese University" (Kazuyuki Kitamura); "Curriculum and Teaching in Japanese Universities: A Report of RIHE National Surveys" (Masao Seki, Yuji Matsunaga, Fumihiro Maruyama); "Curriculum and New Forms of Teaching" (Theodor Berchem); "University Support for Independent Learning: A New Development in Inservice Education of Teaching (INSET)" (Peter Posch); "Universities and Non-University Higher Education in Japan" (Taijun Saito); "Differentiation within a Unitary Higher Education System: Some Experiences of the Swedish Model" (Ulla Ahgren-Lange); "The University as Repository of Unsolved Social Problems: Shortcomings of Human Capitalism" (Sigurd Hollinger, Walter Steinbacher); "The Differentiation between University and Other Forms of Higher Education in the United Kingdom with Particular Reference to the English Polytechnics" (J. H. Thompson); "Innovation in Japan's New-Type (Shinkoso) Universities: The Experience of Three Universities" (Shinroku Saito); "What Are the Main Innovative Features of New (Reform) Universities and Other New Institutions of Higher Education and What Is Their Impact, if Any, on Traditional Institutions?" (Leslie Wagner);"Reflections on American Higher Education: Expansion and Decline (Ernest L. Boyer); "American Education: Hope Amid Change" (E. Boyer); "Secondary Education in America: Priorities for Reform" (E. Boyer); The Educational Function of the University: An Historical Perspective" (Arthur Levine); "Higher Education in an Age of Decline" (A. Levine); "The Puzzle of Higher Education in Japan: A Response" (Nobuo Shimahara); "The Internationalization of Japanese University Students: A Study" (John J. Cogan); and "The Guidance of Foreign Graduate Students in Japanese Universities: A Look at the Organizations and Persons Responsible" (Joseph E. Hicks). (SW)