The Commission on Post-Secondary Education was created by the 43rd Legislative Assembly (H.B. 578) at the request of Governor Thomas L. Judge. The Commission was charged with the responsibility of conducting a comprehensive study of all forms of post-secondary education in the state in order that the Commission could recommend ways in which post-secondary education might be, "better coordinated, improved, expanded, [and] consolidated." The Commission's study included the units of the Montana University System, as well as the state's vocational-technical centers, community colleges, independent colleges, and proprietary schools and colleges. The Commission, also known as the "Blue Ribbon Commission," was composed of thirty members headed by former Lieutenant Governor Ted James. Patrick M. Callan of Sacramento, California, was hired as staff director. The Commission appointed ten technical consulting groups (Accountability, Adult and Continuing Education, Faculty Research, Fiscal and Budgetary, Manpower Planning, Programmatic Planning, Relations between Post-Secondary Education and Secondary Education, Relations between Post-Secondary Education Unit, Student Enrollment, and Survey Research) to insure the comprehensiveness of its study. Members of the groups represented all of the facilities under study as well as private citizens. The Commission held public hearings around the state to solicit public response. The Commission produced a written report containing 127 recommendations, which was submitted by the governor to the legislature in December 1974. The Commission closed its office on March 31, 1975.