Increasingly wide differences in abilities and experiences of entering students, changing student and institutional objectives, and changing teaching-learning techniques have led educators to reappraise the traditional credit system and to modify the strict use of class time as a quantitative measure of student progress. Three modes of deviation from formal class-hour credits are currently in use: (1) flexibility in class-hour requirements, as in independent study; (2) credit by examination, where students are able to demonstrate the required competence in certain courses in lieu of class attendance; and (3) comprehensive examinations, which require more than the accumulation of credits, in an effort to provide evaluation superior to marks in isolated courses and to encourage integration of subject matter. Because the credit system effects student outlook, institutional program planning, and the utilization of staff time and physical facilities, the cooperative development of an improved system for recording and communicating evaluations of student progress may be an important factor in improving the processes by which students become educated. (Author/LBH)