The final report of a 2-year study by the Commission on Non-Traditional Study (sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board and the Educational Testing Service), the book deals with lifelong learning, external degrees, institutional reshaping, and educational alternatives. Suggestions and recommendations of the commission reflect the position that: (1) all the resources for learning, both traditionalistic and nontraditionalistic, are needed to meet the educational needs of individuals and societies; (2) the course of action to help existing colleges and universities grant credits and degrees based on nontraditional approaches will match stability and experience with experimental forms. Several major recommendations that will affect the next decade are: (1) the support of lifetime learning (basic, continuing, recurrent); (2) the shift of emphasis of colleges and universities from degree-granting to service to the learner; (3) the redirection of faculty through inservice development to the use of nontraditional forms and materials; (4) the promotion and use of educational technology (cable television, computers, videotape recordings, and satellite broadcasting); (5) the development of new agencies to provide and disseminate information and provide counseling services; (6) the development of new evaluative tools for accreditation and credentialing; (7) the encouragement of collaboration among collegiate, community, and alternate educational entities. (EA)