The complexity of the budgetary process, in which so many independent bodies sequentially or simultaneously review the higher education budgets, results in complicated interorganizational relationships and apparent overlap or duplication of roles. Despite disagreement and lack of theory, budget professionals are moving slowly and pragmatically toward a more systematic approach to budgeting. The present study began in July 1973, when the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education undertook a three-year, 50-state study of the processes used by state agencies to formulate the budgets of colleges and universities. Its twofold purpose is to advance budgetary theory and to give state and institutional budget professionals a broader understanding of (1) the interrelationships, roles, functions, and objectives of the several state agencies in the budgetary process; (2) the congruence or incongruence of such objectives among the several agencies; and (3) the practices and procedures that build confidence in the fairness of the budgetary process. Reports based on the study describe and analyze the organizational structures and staffing of state-level agencies and the progress of institutional budget requests through these agencies. The primary emphasis is on the budget review and analysis process and the procedures used by the state agencies; the study concentrates on the administrative interfaces among the several state agencies and between the agencies and the institutions of higher education. (Author/MSE)