This report, a brief summary of a definitive study on the organizational, administrative, and operational patterns of 283 State Boards responsible for 1,268 institutional units of higher education, presents information on the types of boards in each State, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories and possessions, and classifies the types of institutional units for which these boards are responsible. The background and methods of the study, and a summary of the findings, analysis, conclusions and recommendations, precede the statistical information. (AF)