This report describes the first year activities of the Project on the Implementation of General Education. The research examines how general education programs are actually developed and implemented on college campuses that have limited resources, specifically focusing on comprehensive doctorate-granting institutions in New England. It is noted that when a change process is initiated, usually at the insistence of an administrator, it takes an average of over 3 years to complete. Several variables are described that appear to contribute to the successful design and implementation of general education curricula on college campuses. They include the need to obtain initial agreement about the reasons for change early in the design process and the critical role that faculty development activities and extrinsic rewards for involvement play long after the changes are implemented. Results from two case studies and site visits are discussed. These studies show that in each of the situations examined, the success of the process depended upon the ability of campus leaders to acknowledge the tensions in the process and to develop mechanisms that could mediate the differences that arose. Contains eight references. (GLR)