A learning contract is a document, drawn up by a student and his instructor or advisor that specifies what the student will learn, how this will be accomplished, within what period of time, and what the criteria of evaluation will be. The student and instructor agree upon specific objectives, resources to be used, and feedback sessions.…

Evaluation of prior learning for the External Degree Program at Florida International University is described. Efforts in the following areas are presented: (1) implementation and evaluation of the competency-based assessment tool, (2) integration of the assessment process with other processes of the External Degree Program and the entire…

Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, is a competence-based, baccalaureate-degree-granting institution created in 1971 to serve adults. The Operational Models Project was designed to improve the university's program for assessing experiential learning. Specific purposes of the project were: (1) to describe a program for…

Programs emphasizing the development of interpersonal skills have been incorporated into the formal educational structure at Empire State College, New York; this process is described and explained. Learning occurs in an individualized context which recognizes the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of interpersonal competence. Student…

The Community College of Vermont holds the position that the highest purpose of education is to foster self-reliance, in both the community and the individual. This college awards the associate degree upon the completion of individual, student-written, competence-based degree contracts. Areas of competence which are evaluated include self…