This report lists 11 budgetary principles for higher education institutions, and presents the results of a survey which examined whether the practices of four-year public higher education institutions in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin followed these precepts during the fiscal problems of the early 1990s. The 11 principles address the following areas: (1) collaborative planning process; (2) long- and short-term budget plans; (3) selective versus across-the-board cuts; (4) expenditure reductions versus revenue increases; (5) criteria for budget cuts; (6) long- not short-term personnel strategies; (7) raising productivity and performance in all areas; (8) reducing degree programs; (9) restructuring offices and activities; (10) refocusing campus missions; and (11) quality and access in undergraduate education. The survey found that institutions often failed to follow the budget principles. Respondents, when asked to cite three actions best characterizing their budget strategies, reported restricting expenditures (67 percent), restructuring organization and operations (66 percent), and raising revenues (49 percent). The report questions the heavy use of such strategies as tuition increases, encouragement of early retirement, and vacancy and salary freezes. (DB)