Although instructional systems design (ISD) has traditionally been used as a micro-level model to design instructional interventions, there has been in recent years a trend toward using the systems approach for more macro-level applications such as performance technology and educational systems design. This paper provides an overview of nontraditional degree programs and shows that the difference between traditional instruction and ISD is equivalent to the difference between traditional and nontraditional degree programs. A popular ISD model is used to show how ISD can be adapted for use at a macro level to design nontraditional degree programs for adult students. In the traditional institutional model of instruction, learners play a relatively passive role. The developer of an alternative external degree program uses learner-centered thinking to consider what the learner should know and be able to do for a bachelor's degree, how much the learner already knows, and the most effective and efficient ways to meet these objectives. Models and procedures used to design learner-based, mastery-level instruction are the same models that can be used to design learner-based degree programs. One table and three figures illustrate the discussion. (Contains 18 references.) (SLD)