This quantitative study examined the perceptions of members of Oklahoma public higher education governing boards and legislators concerning higher education governance. The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding among the participants as to the role governing boards should play in the system. The population for the study comprised 142 members of the Oklahoma Legislature and 107 members of 15 Oklahoma public higher education governing boards. The principal investigator used a web-based survey development company to design, collect, and store survey responses. Results from the study were examined using independent samples t tests and one-way ANOVAs. From these tests, 5 out of 15 research questions had statistically significant findings. Analysis of the data revealed that legislators and members of governing boards perceive the role of governing boards differently in some key ways. There were significant differences concerning governing boards primarily serving to promote the interests of individual institutions, with members of governing boards, Democrats, and participants from suburban areas more likely to agree with this position. Members of the legislature were significantly more likely to agree than members of governing boards that the primary role of governing boards is policy implementation. There were also significant differences concerning the role of governing boards serving primarily to keep the expenditure of public dollars as low as possible with participants from urban areas agreeing with this statement.