A six-month study and evaluation of statewide California program review procedures focused on four major questions: (1) What is statewide program review? (2) To whom is it important? (3) How does it operate in California? and (4) How can it be made more responsive to questions of quality and accountability? Four state administrative offices were studied, including the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the California Community Colleges, the California State University and Colleges, and the University of California. The resulting report contains three parts. Part I defines program review in the context of its critical relationships to academic planning, examines current literature and the experience in other states, notes changing social conditions, and describes the governing and coordinating mechanisms in California. The subordination of program review to budgeting and planning is noted. In Part II, nine recommendations are given for strengthening state and segmental planning, simplifying the review of new programs, and increasing accountability for educational objectives. They include: strengthening state and segmental planning in its relation to review of new existing programs; simplifying new program review procedures to emphasize statewide concerns; and increasing accountability for educational objectives. In Part III, interaction among the recommendations is emphasized, along with their dependence on institutional program planning and program review. (Author/PJM)