Developed as part of the Mission, Role, and Scope Procedures projects, conducted from 1977 through 1979 by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), this book identifies topics to be covered in determining an institution's mission and how such a determination could be achieved through traditional, campus based, academic decision-making processes. It is suggested that the retrenchment era confronting higher education brings demands for planners to use strategic planning as a tool for integrating curricular, financial, and personnel planning more carefully. An understanding of the institution's mission provides a framework for achieving the needed integration in addressing these issues. The book is intended for several different audiences: senior institutional administrators, those charged with long-range planning or self-study responsibilities, faculty self-study committee members, and state master-planners. Part One, "Mission Review in Higher Education," discusses the history of planning in higher education, mission review as a foundation for planning and decision-making, the content of a mission statement, conducting mission review, and conclusions. Part Two presents the SUNY-Albany Mission Statement, including SUNY-Albany abstracts of three-year plans for each institutional unit. Mission review is concluded to: (1) serve as an invaluable foundation for campus planning and budgeting activity, (2) require careful organization and broad development, (3) be most successful when approached from a strategic-planning perspective, (4) continue to grow in importance at the state level, and (5) receive increased attention in institutional planning. A supplemental section discusses state-level mission review and identifies ways that state-level review differs from institutional mission studies. Issues of centralization and standardization are among those discussed. A bibliography is included. (LC)