List of Figures and Tables; Notes on Contributors; Foreword by Baroness Tessa Blackstone; List of Abbreviations; Editor's Introduction--David Watson and Michael Amoah; 1) The Fate of the Dearing Recommendations: Policy and Performance in UK HE, 1997-2007--David Watson and Rachel Bowden; 2) Examining Higher Education: A Comparative View of National Inquiries--Gareth Parry; 3) Higher Education, Research and the Knowledge Economy: From Robbins to 'the Gathering Storm'--Jonathan Adams and David Smith; 4) '100 Voices': The State of the HE Nation--Michael Amoah; 5) Shifting Sands: UK Higher Education in the Mid-Twenty First Century--Ronald Barnett; 6) Looking Back: Reflections of the Dearing Committee--Members of the NCIHE: Judith Evans, David Weatherall, Simon Wright, George Quigley, Pamela Morris, David Watson and Shirley Trundle; 7) Looking Forward: Unfinished Business in UK HE in 2007--David Watson; Afterword--Lord Ron Dearing; Appendix I: Members of the Dearing Committee; Appendix II: Recommendations of the Dearing Committee; Appendix III: The Dearing 'Compact'; References; Index.