Attributes of experimental programs, colleges, and institutional projects are described in this compilation, which extends previous reports in the series by reviewing the extent to which experimental programs and colleges make use of independent study and new approaches to teaching and learning. This report also deals with some of the implications…

Experimental colleges are one attempt to provide more relevant educational experiences. They are characterized by the merger of counseling and instruction, the lack of grades and normative student rankings, interdisciplinary coursework, student input into curriculum planning, contract learning and independent study, off-campus learning…

In order for the Governors State University (GSU) to reach its stated objectives, a unique administrative environment was created which supports the creation of instructional materials based on competencies. Performance objectives are used to describe course content and the learning requirements for individual courses within a program, as well as…

An institutional review of Evergreen State College that was undertaken by the Washington Council for Postsecondary Education is described. A review of a higher education institution by a state agency was unusual but was a compromise action by the 1977 state legislature, which also considered closing the college, whose institutional cost level was…

Information on establishing and running a free university is presented in this handbook. A free university is defined as an organization offering ungraded, unaccredited classes, activities and programs to the general public. Information on starting the free university includes: how to determine the needs of your community; deciding on a name and…

This paper describes the personalized instruction program for economic education at Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, New York. Personalized instruction is defined as relating subject content to the personal background, interests, needs, and abilities of the student. Students proceed at their own pace, use materials suitable to their…

The academic and emotional needs of students who enter college early are discussed, based on studies done of students at Simon's Rock College. The concept of early college admission is defended on the grounds that some students are emotionally and academically ready for college after only two years of high school. (JSR)

Alverno College students receive no grades and do not compete with each other, but to graduate, they must demonstrate competence in eight "abilities": communication, analysis, problem solving, valuing, social interaction, taking responsibility for the global environment, effective citizenship, and aesthetic response. (MSE)

This article is a descriptive overview of one aspect of the history of Quebec's Tele-universite (TU). This case is used to unveil the inter-organizational and political tensions which may accompany the somewhat difficult development of a distance education model. Teleuniversite was created in 1972 as an experimental project by the Universite du…

University for Man (UFM) has developed into a major national organization, impacting the worlds of lifelong learning, alternative education, and rural and community resource development. It was founded in 1968 when Manhattan, Kansas, residents secured several hundred dollars from the Kansas State University student government to organize seven…

If students are to learn as much as they can, they should themselves choose what they wish to study. College faculties who set up course requirements, for whatever ostensible reason, are usurping a function which belongs to the student. Explicit guidance, in the form of advice from a faculty member, is better than the implicit guidance of course…

At Metropolitan State University, the Individualized Educational Planning Course was a response to adult students' unique curriculum needs. Students learn university expectations of quality; plan solid, individualized degrees; examine what it means to be an educated person; pursue knowledge actively and successfully through informed choices; and…

The papers in this document present three themes: history of higher education; educational thought; and education and reform. "The University of Illinois' Long Search for a Permanent Campus in Chicago, 1946-1963: The Relationship between the Politics of Influence and the Conflicting Images of an Urban University" (G. A. Sprague) begins part 1 and…

The philosophy and structure of programs of coordinated study at Evergreen State College from 1970 to 1980 are discussed, and comparisons are made to the experiment at the University of California, Berkeley, promoted by Joseph Tussman. Both programs are based on ideas suggested by Alexander Meiklejohn and his Experimental College at the University…

Although a number of Chicano colleges were founded during the 1970s, none of them survive today. This book provides an institutional case study of Colegio Cesar Chavez (Oregon), the first independent four-year Chicano college with accreditation candidacy. The study examines Colegio's founding, institutional mission and philosophy, campus…