The Guided Independent Study Program, an individually paced, master-oriented teaching method for serving undergraduate and graduate nontraditional students at the College of St. Scholastica, Minnesota, is described. A number of independent study courses in psychology, gerontology, and education have been offered to students who cannot come to the campus to attend regular class meetings. The approach is based on psychology of learning and individual differences. The course materials are divided into 10 to 12 relatively small units of study called instructional projects. The information provided for each instructional project includes: a descriptive title, purpose, behavioral objectives, evaluative criteria, learning resources, and competency exercises. Competency exercises provide immediate feedback regarding their progress. After completing half of the course, students take a retention test before beginning the work on the second. The course grade is based on the competency exercises, assignments, and retention tests, which are administered by the student's supervisor or other representative. Students maintain contact with the instructor through phone calls and letters. The program has been found to be a viable mode of meeting educational needs of teachers, service providers, and other nontraditional students. This approach is appropriate for courses in which the material to be learned is structured in a definite hierarchy with well-defined objectives, is largely available from written materials, and is amenable to individual learning. Its features of self-pacing, mastery learning, and immediate feedback make it especially attractive to nontraditional students. (Author/SW)