A survey of undergraduate students enrolled on eight campuses of The University of California yielded information about the magnitude and structure of desire for programs of study different from the traditional, full-time programs in which these students are enrolled. These preferences were elicited about both undergraduate and graduate programs of study. Although a desire for alternative programs is greater for the graduate level, both graduate and undergraduate orientations toward alternative programs have two principal sources: (1) a desire for greater time and space flexibility in access to higher education, which arises out of objective familial and financial impediments to easy, full-time enrollment; and (2)a negative view of established forms and modes of higher education. The kinds of programs which students feel will meet these needs are characterized by instructional modes which do not require the student to attend a single center of learning but which, nevertheless, retain interpersonal contacts among students and faculty members. The most attractive single feature endorsed by those desiring alternative modes of instruction is the design of the course of study by the student himself. The implications of these findings for future changes in traditional higher education are discussed.
American higher education is a most heterogeneous amalgam of structures and functions. Though this is taken for granted by most of the participants, it is exceedingly unusual in the context of higher education