Although each public higher education system in California has a unique mission and social purpose, the systems are united in a most common and fundamental way: each aims to enhance the intellectual, technical, and creative capacity of its student learners. Because advanced knowledge--scientific, technical, and procedural--tends to be organized by fields of study, and delivered to students through specific programs, the ultimate success and benefit of the state's higher education enterprise rests with the quality and breadth of institutional degree and certificate programs. "Assembly Resolution 770, Statutes of 1974," established the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the statewide planning and coordinating agency for higher education, with specific mandated planning functions and responsibilities. Primary among the responsibilities given to CPEC is academic and vocational program review. In addition, the Commission is charged with reviewing and commenting on the need for new campuses and off-campus centers. The Commission developed a set of principles to guide the program review process. The principles are intended to: (1) safeguard the state against inefficiencies in the allocation of program resources; (2) help ensure that new programs will meet student and societal needs; and (3) ensure that programs are well conceived and that they will have desired educational and social consequences. As defined in statute, the Commission's role in the review process is primarily advisory.