The work of state higher education system boards is changing. By "system boards," the author means governing boards for all of higher education in a state, governing boards for certain kinds of institutions (such as the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and the California State University system), and state coordinating agencies (such as the Illinois Board of Higher Education). All of them have a general responsibility to promote cooperation and coherence among the institutions for which they are responsible. But times have changed, and so should the ways in which systems boards do that work. The major challenge today is not building capacity; it is instead using the existing capacity of state systems of colleges and universities as efficiently and effectively as possible. Certainly new buildings need to be built, but not as many as during the mid-20th century. New programs need to be started, but not as many. New institutions need to be established, but not many. There are more than enough highly selective universities and not nearly enough colleges committed to meeting the needs of the people in the states in which they are located. The size and strength of the for-profit sector of postsecondary education has also changed American higher education. State boards now have two major responsibilities. First, they must insist upon the public purpose of higher education: to meet the needs of the people of the states in which they are located. Second, they must continue to act as "buffers" between the colleges and universities and the political and bureaucratic institutions of government. In this article, the author lists some of the things the higher education boards--the buffer agencies--should do.