This collection of 10 papers from the 1981 conference of the Interuniversity Communications Council (EDUCOM) highlights developments in new communications technologies and their impact on higher education, emphasizing computer usage and telecommunications advancements. Three papers analyzing computer applications to higher education focus on the role of higher education institutions in developing computer literacy (Arthur Luehrmann); the Decision Information Display System (DIDS), a computer-driven, rapid, interactive system for color mapping of statistics, which is designed to aid decision-making (Curtis L. Fritz); and an experimental implementation of a computer system in a political science office, which suggests implications for the office of the future (G. R. Boynton). Primarily concerned with telecommunications and video technology, the next four papers provide a tutorial on videodisc technology (Joan M. Sustik) a review of telecommunications technology (Robert Gaynor), a summary of instructional telecommunications in Alaska (Jane P. Demmert), and a discussion of the implications of television technology advances for higher education (John Blessington). The remaining papers address national and international policy issues related to higher education (Irving Shain), the implications of high technology for administrators (Joseph Lipson), and information systems control and security (Joel B. Urman). (LMN)