IN HIS REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON INTERINSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION, THE AUTHOR FOUND THAT THE GROUPS FORMED PASS BY MANY NAMES--"CENTER,""CONSORTIUM" OR "COUNCIL,""COOPERATIVE PROGRAM,""EXCHANGE PROGRAM," AND "ASSOCIATION." THESE GROUPS FORM A CONTINUUM FROM TIGHTLY KNIT TO LOOSER OCCASIONAL TIES. THE BASIC UNIT IS A COLLEGE, EVEN THOUGH THE CHARACTERISTICS SHARED BY COLLEGES WERE FOUND TO BE LIMITED. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND PRECEDING THE RECENT STIMULUS FROM THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 IS DESCRIBED AND MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ARE ANALYZED. RESEARCH ON RECENT EFFORTS WAS FOUND DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE ABSENCE OF CATALOGING AND AGREED-UPON CATEGORIES. MUCH VALUABLE DATA WAS FOUND IN EPHEMERA. THE AUTHOR FOUND THAT AS HIGHER EDUCATION HAS BECOME A MAJOR AMERICAN INDUSTRY, THERE HAVE BEEN MOVES TOWARD COOPERATION TO ACHIEVE GREATER EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMY. IN CONTRAST, SOME INDUSTRIAL PROGRAMS, ALTHOUGH FAR ABOVE THE MINIMUMS FOR ACCREDITATION, HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED BECAUSE THEY ARE BYPRODUCTS OF BUSINESS OR MANUFACTURING. THE PRESSURES TOWARD COOPERATION ARE DESCRIBED. THESE PRESSURES HAVE BEEN STEADY BUT UNCOORDINATED. GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS HAS BEEN INVOLVED. PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS AND THE COLLEGES THEMSELVES ARE ENCOURAGING THE EFFORTS. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES (1) INTERINSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION MUST BE SEEN AS A PROCESS, (2) ANALYSES OF THE PROCESS IS NEEDED, AND (3) THERE IS A NEED FOR INFORMATION FROM THE INSTITUTIONS, FOR COOPERATIVE STUDIES, FOR A PURPOSEFUL TAXONOMY, AND FOR A THEORETICAL FOUNDATION FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS AND TO GUIDE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS. (AL)