A general overview of the University of the Third Age at Toulouse, France designed for retired persons, is provided including a summary of the university's aims to improve the lives and living standards of the elderly. Possibilities for such a program using distance teaching are reported. (JMF)

The Open University's Advisory and Preparatory Services Committee has developed a plan to help new students prepare for the learning experience prior to the beginning of courses through collaborative ventures with local institutions, the pairing of students with tutors, and distribution of course-based material. (JMF)

The relationship between personal and educational counseling at the Open University is outlined as a starting point for discussing more effective ways of carrying out personal and crisis counseling functions. (JMF)

How does the college faculty member involved in off-campus teaching plan for intensively scheduled classes comprised of forty hours of instruction in three weekends? Two main areas of concern are (1) the differences between these students and those found on the main campus and (2) methods of providing variety in instruction to maintain a…

Study centers for the Open University are described. They provide students with an opportunity to meet other students, tutors, and counselors. Some possible future developments within the study centers are outlined. (JMF)

In 1998, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools established a fifteen-member Task Force to study the practices and procedures employed in adult degree completion programs. An adult degree completion program is identified as one that is designed especially to meet the needs of the working adult who, having acquired sixty or more…

A procedure for course evaluation at Britain's Open University is described. Justification for obtaining feedback from students, audiences for the data, and intended uses in the maintenance of courses are outlined. (JMF)

The Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Off-Campus Network of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is described as a model for providing student services for off-campus programs for 15 study centers located throughout Australia. (JMF)

Formal and informal educational options available to older persons are briefly described, with attention to classroom courses, correspondence/home study courses, credit by examination, summer/weekend learning vacations, external degree programs, discussion groups, and self-study. Classes may be offered at public and private schools, community…

This booklet on the Open University includes an introductory section on the system, programs of study, students, the adult learner, the teaching package, study centers, local support, and correspondence tuition. General principles of teaching by correspondence, the role of the course tutor, and student comments are covered. Support provided by the…

University education should be more widely available to people who are older and less traditionally qualified than the matriculated, predominantly middle-class students of most universities. Two institutions with open admissions policies, the British Open University and the University of Paris Vincennes, are discussed. (MLW)

An exploration of Project Transition, an outgrowth of the University Without Walls program for adult learners, is presented. The development on nontraditional educational thinking is recounted from a personal standpoint, including the realization that return to education in mid-life often signaled a larger decision to reshape personal identity,…

Basic issues of change in higher education throughout the world and examples of innovations are discussed, based on the 1978 World Conference on Innovations in Higher Education. The following problem areas are addressed: access to higher education, the relevance of studies, flexibility and change within institutions, and efficiency and cost. About…

The annual report describes project activities in two categories: those of the task force (governing body) and those of subprojects. The task force worked toward establishing a viable, ongoing consortium for nontraditional postsecondary education in New England and to consider other collaborative efforts for meeting regional needs. The subprojects…

A comprehensive study was undertaken of the effectiveness of an external degree program implemented in Illinois to meet the needs of adult students studying for the bachelor's degree. The rationale, history, structure, administration, and governance of the statewide program offered through five universities are described. The majority of students…