The historical context for planning by the California Postsecondary Education Commission is considered, with attention to seven major planning documents. Information is provided on the origins, methods, and conclusions of the studies, as well as the relationship among the studies and the effects on master planning conducted since 1974. The titles and dates of the studies are as follows: (1) "First Efforts as Voluntary Cooperation, and the Strayer Report on the Needs of California Higher Education" (1945-1948); (2) "Voluntary Coordination of Growth, and the McConnell Restudy of the Needs of California in Higher Education" (1949-1955); (3) "Growth and Expansion, and the Semans-Holy Study of the Need for Additional Centers of Public Higher Education in California" (1956-1958); (4)"Structural Differentiation, Representative Coordination, and the Master Plan for Higher Education in California, 1960-1975" (1959-1964); (5) "A Legislative Look at Restructuring by the Joint Legislative Committee on Higher Education" (1965-1969); (6) "From Representative to Advisory Coordination Through the Work of the Select Committee and Joint Legislative Committee on the Master Plan" (1970-1973); and (7)"Continuous Planning and Coordination Through the Five-Year Plans of the California Postsecondary Education Commission" (1974-1984). (SW)