assistance from staff people and consultants. Therefore, the basic staff
of the Maryland Advisory Council for Higher Education is being
expanded in order to provide the necessary assistance, and we also
anticipate that we will be using outside consultants on some of the
special projects.

Not all states have chosen, as we have in Maryland to establish a
coordinating agency which has only advisory authority. In some SREB
states, such as Georgia and Florida, the coordination of the state-sup-
ported institutions is handled by a board which also is the govern-
ing board for all of the institutions. In Arkansas the state agency is
responsible only for the coordination of financial matters, although
this obviously means that they must be well-informed about all as-
pects of higher education in the state. In Texas the state agency is
responsible for reviewing the new programs which individual insti-
tutions desire to undertake and for approving or disapproving the
establishment of these programs. In several states the agency also has
the authority to abolish programs which are no longer needed in the
state.

Judging from our experience in Maryland and also from the re-
ports I hear about other states, one of the most crucial problems in
the area of planning and coordination is securing qualified staff people
for these state agencies. We were very lucky in Maryland in secur-
ing a fine staff director and we trust that he will be able eventually
to secure equally competent people for the other staff positions, but
he is having a very difficult time doing it. The rapid growth of these
agencies has created a severe shortage of personnel. This is a prob-
lem which should be of concern to all of us in both state government
and higher education.

The Southern Regional Education Board has made an important
contribution to many states in the compact as they seek to develop
effective state planning and coordinating agencies. We in Maryland
have called upon both Dr. Drumbaugh and Dr. Miller on several
occasions. I understand that SREB also has worked in various ways
with agencies in other states including Virginia, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Georgia and others. The board staff
has also provided helpful assistance to legislative groups, state agen-
cies and others in those states which were considering the establish-
ment of a new state agency and needed advice concerning the way in
which various arrangements have operated in other states.

Dr. Drumbaugh's extremely informative brochure on "State-wide

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