As a working definition, innovation in the context of higher education involves substantive changes and reforms in instructional methods, the use of student and faculty time, and the process of learning. These observations are based primarily on the results in some 75 projects underway in the California State University and College System. The findings, which should have special meaning for planners, include student, faculty, and administrator reactions to innovations. Students seem to like the experimental programs in which they participate, even when assigned to them at random. Faculty participating in innovative programs generally express satisfaction with the experience and a willingness to repeat it--even though most report working far harder than they had anticipated. A variety of time-shortened degree programs and self-paced courses seem to be demonstrating that a substantial minority of students are interested in and capable of moving more quickly through their college education. As innovations take hold, changes in the higher education enterprise will follow. If existing procedures cannot accommodate innovative programs, they must be adjusted accordingly. To permit past routines to stifle the new is contrary to the fundamental spirit of American higher education. (Author/PG)