Perspectives on federal regulation and academic freedom at U.S. colleges and universities are considered. It is claimed that under Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972, universities have by and large forfeited their right to decide for themselves who shall be admitted to the student body. The federal government has essentially acquired across-the-board power to decide which admissions criteria are appropriate, since it has declared any admissions policy discriminatory if it has a differential effect among groups. It is proposed that regulation of faculty hiring is even more intrusive than regulation of admissions, since many institutions are under specific orders to fill a stated number of openings with protected groups, and some are required to provide a written report on the qualifications, race, and sex of applicants and to state why they were not hired. Another issue is compliance with the Equal Pay Act in faculty hiring. The Department of Labor has failed to issue a definitive policy establishing criteria to be used in "equating" faculty in various disciplines. Federal intervention in classroom content is illustrated by federal proceedings against the North Carolina state system of higher education, whereby the government is demanding the right to approve the academic structure of each state college in order to ensure that they are "equal," and thus that one institution is no more attractive than another to potential applicants. Regulations pertaining to medical and social science research conducted at colleges and universities also threaten academic freedom. Regulations pertain to interviewing, observing, or gathering data and to the time faculty members spend on research and other professional activities. Another issue of concern is federal intervention in the area of contested dismissal of students. A few actions that might be taken to counteract these trends, including curbing the authority of Institutional Review Boards, are noted. A bibliography is appended. (SW)