This case study describes the introduction and consideration of a state board staff proposal that the more traditional Minnesota State Universities adopt external degree programs. A model for making practices congruent with policy decisions is presented. The process of examining the external degree proposal, beginning with the state board actions and later the campus activities, is detailed. The examination process at each of the four institutions had different outcomes. To summarize the major outcomes and facilitate comparison, the categories of perception, policies, and practices are summarized. Tables are presented that list by institution general impressions, policies, and practices on the four major characteristics addressed by the state board office proposal: substance, delivery, evaluation, and clientele. Data from the institutions are analyzed on a systems level, using a political systems approach. The internal processes are analyzed using a synthesis of diffusion, organizational development, and community power models. Hypotheses that will assist in specifying the variables affecting implementation of administratively initiated innovations are presented. (SW)