About the Montana University System

Overview

The MUS provides strategic direction and coordinates the overall structure, function, and budget of Montana’s dynamic collection of post-secondary institutions. This includes leading public research and doctoral-level institutions and comprehensive 4-year and 2-year colleges and universities, as well as three community colleges. Through this unified management system, Montana’s higher education community is able to provide a wider diversity of opportunities and deliver system-wide programming more effectively and efficiently to students across the state.

The MUS also works in partnership with Montana’s seven independent tribal colleges, which provide post-secondary opportunities to Native American students in Indian Country.

The governing structure for the Montana University System is rooted in Montana’s Constitution, which grants authority of the MUS to the Board of Regents (Board).  The Board consists of seven volunteer members, including a full-time student regent, appointed by the Governor to overlapping terms. The Board is charged with hiring a Commissioner of Higher Education who serves as the chief executive officer of the MUS. The Governor and the Superintendent of Public Instruction serve as ex-officio members of the Board.

The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE) is the administrative body that manages and supports campus leadership and coordinates Board of Regents’ policy across all campuses of the MUS. OCHE also coordinates academic policy efforts on behalf of the MUS, oversees all aspects financial administration within the university system, manages and oversees the university system’s employee benefits program, and works directly with the public, governmental entities, media organizations, and faculty, staff and students to provide information about services and higher education opportunities in Montana.