This is the third and final report resulting from a study of external degree programs and graduates conducted in 1976-77. The present study attempts to answer the basic concern that prompted the study: how useful and valuable are such degrees from the perspective of the graduates themselves? Survey responses from 1,486 program graduates were…

An extensive final report of the proceedings of an international seminar on distance education in developing nations of Africa includes presented papers, discussion proceedings, and views of several participants. Contents include the following: notes on the origin of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's initiative in distance…

The University of Mid-America's (UMA) goals and plans are reviewed in this evaluation planning paper. Several issues effecting the overall shape of external evaluation activities over a five-year period are described. Focus in this report is on UMA's philosophical orientation and future plans, the rationale for the open learning approach, UMA open…

The catalog is designed to provide information on both the Regents External Degrees and the College Proficiency Examinations of New York State. The information is oriented toward individuals who wish to know about and take advantage of either program. The Regents External Degree is awarded by the University of the State of New York, which has no…

A study explored reasons chosen by adults for returning to college and their perceptions of their attainment by reviewing the literature and surveying graduates of an off-campus degree program. Review of prior studies led to the expectation that there would be two main groups of reasons: job-related and personal enrichment. Baccalaureate degree in…

Three objectives are examined in this report: (1) to outline concisely some of the educational questions that course planning teams may wish to address in the early stages of course planning; (2) to provide a short list of resources, principally from the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology (IET), that may aid in course team…

The paper presents some of the organizing principles that have emerged in the process of designing higher education programs for adults. The analysis relies on some of the recent research and literature on adult development, life stages, and learning interests. The organizing principles were not predetermined, but have resulted from years of…

Delivered at a conference on women in British education, this collection of papers demonstrates with statistical evidence and close argument the extent of discrimination against women in higher education. "The Place of Women in the Changing Pattern of Further Education" by Eileen Byrne looks at women as they leave school at the secondary…

The Ryerson Open College in collaboration with the Ontario Educational Communications Authority offered a multimedia, introductory credit course in sociology in 1972. Of the 173 students who participated in the course evaluation, only 18 percent completed all of the four questionnaires which constituted the evaluation data. Student grades and…

Six selected nontraditional approaches to curriculum at the University of Minnesota, each leading to a baccalaureate degree, are described. The programs are designed to provide flexibility to students enrolled in the university or to extend a university education to people not otherwise served. Each involves individual student selection of work to…

The Open University of Great Britain relies heavily on broadcasting as a mode of instruction, but increased course offerings are making it impossible to broadcast each lesson more than once. To reach students unable to view the original broadcast, video cassette reorder systems were tested in six community study centers as part of a 1974 pilot…

The Open University of Great Britain is an open-enrollment, home-based institution in which the majority of instruction is conducted via broadcasts and correspondence. As part of an effort to measure the effectiveness of this program, 490 students in a course in mathematical analysis were surveyed to: 1) determine the amount of time students spent…

In a home-based institution like the Open University of Great Britain where enrollment is open and participation patterns are erratic, maintaining up-to-date, accurate records of students is imperative. A systematized data base is required for the administration of admissions, fee collection, materials distribution, monitoring and marking of…

In its efforts to develop an external degree program designed primarily for full-time working adults, Delaware County Community College conducted a study to determine methods of developing policies, regulations, and procedures to assess experiential learning, and to find out what office of the College should administer this program and how it…

In analyzing past and present conditions of external degree programs, it is apparent there is emerging support for lifelong learning. There has been an increase of American interest in the external degree program, particularly during 1970. There are five external degree-related developments which contribute to increasing lifelong learning…