This study is an analysis of trends in public higher education and their probability and desirability for the 1970's as perceived by persons in positions of leadership in public higher education. The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the major trends in public higher education in the United States, (2) to assess the opinions of persons in positions of leadership in the public four-year colleges and universities in Texas, (3) to determine if there were significant differences in opinions of the probability and desirability of trends for the 1970's, and (4) to develop projections of the most probable and the most desirable trends for the 1970's.