The future relationship between the government and higher education institutions in England is addressed in 10 papers from a Leverhulme seminar of the Society for Research into Higher Education. Major seminar themes included the role of the state in directing higher education, the need for institutional autonomy, the balance of powers between central and regional bodies, and policy making. Recommendations are included concerning the following: institutional autonomy, validation and course controls, regional and local coordination, the University Grants Committee and the National Advisory Body for Local Authority Higher Education, governance in the late 1980s, and policy formation. Titles and authors are: "The Structure and Governance of Higher Education" (Michael Shattock);"Governing the Higher Education System" (Burton R. Clark); "Policy Making and Accountability in Higher Education" (Lord Crowther-Hunt); "Co-ordinating Structures: The UGS and US State Co-ordinating Agencies" (Robert Berdahl); "NAB--An Interim Solution" (John Bevan); "The Council for National Academic Awards" (John Pratt); "The Regional Dimension: Some Considerations from a European Perspective" (Guy Neave); "A Regional Dimension in the United Kingdom" (David Morrell); "Has the Binary Policy Failed?" (Peter Scott); and "Conclusions and Recommendations" (Michael Shattock). (SW)