The financial crunch hit the University of Minnesota after the 1971 legislative session, which appropriated for the 1971-72 and 1972-73 fiscal years and began an attempt at a new kind of budget planning process. It was a unique process in the institutional review of programs and in the setting of priorities for future growth and direction. There was an extensive communication and consultation flow up and down the hierarchical ladder with input from the president, vice presidents' groups, as well as the provosts, deans, Senate committees, Office of Budget and Planning and Information Services, the Expanded Consultative Committee, the Regents' Committees on Educational Policy and Budget, Audit and Legislative Relationships, and the students. The time consuming and exhaustive process included a number of public meetings and working sessions in an attempt to dispel the suspicion that the process was a sham used to legitimize decisions already made. Although many questioned the value of this institutional self-evaluation, the concensus is that the evaluation process will yield proposals for more efficient and effective use of faculty and student time. (Author/JMF)