Research on the present situation and future development of external degree systems in the U.S.A.and U.K.

本研究旨在了解美国和英国的外部学位授予制度、现状和前景。主要是在终身学习社会发展和成熟的背景下，探讨其历史发展和当今的运动。在1995- 1998财政年度的研究援助期间，我们进行了三种调查，对个别机构的问卷调查与外部学位课程，调查这些机构的目录和文献研究。我们认为，这可能是第一次对美国各种形式的外部学位制度和英国的学分积累与转移制度以及日本的这种大规模的外部学位制度进行全面的调查，作为研究的结果，除了外部学位的定义、运作和要求的变化之外，还发现该制度需要建立评估的基础设施。这一基础设施包括标准化考试的学分、作为PONSI计划在大学外学习的学分或经验学习的评估。另一个发现是，该系统可能会受到社会转型与信息技术的快速发展和/或成人学习需求的扩大。

This research was designed to gain the knowledge on the system, present situation and fixture perspective of external degree granting in United States and United Kingdom. It mainly focused its historical development and the movement nowadays within the context of development and maturation of life-long learning society. During the period of research aid, fiscal years 1995-98, we made three kinds of survey, questionnaire inquiry to individual institution with external degree program, survey of catalogs of these institutions and literature research. We believe that this may be the first comprehensive survey of external degree systems with various forms in U.S.and the credit accumulation and transfer system in U.K.with this large scale in Japan.As results of this research, besides the definition, operation and variation of requirement of external degree, it came to light that the system needs infrastructure of assessment to be established. This infrastructure includes credit by standardized examination, credit by learning outside university as PONSI program or evaluation of experience learning. Another finding is that the system may be influenced by the social transformation with rapid development of information technology and/or enlargement of needs of adult learning.