The Evergreen State College, Washington's newest four-year college, was established in the midst of an unprecedented enrollment expansion. It also responded to contemporary calls for reform in higher education. Two conditions, the recent lack of growth in higher education and a subsiding of enthusiasm for nontraditional higher education, have created problems for the college. In 1977 the state legislature called for a study and recommendations on the curriculum and costs of the college, in order to broaden its clientele and reduce total operating costs, which are relatively high, to the level of the state's regional universities. The response to that request is organized in seven parts. The first describes the series of decisions leading to the establishment, location, size, and style of the college, and the second examines the pertinent demographics. The third examines cost and identifies the enrollment level at which it is believed Evergreen's unit costs will become comparable with those of the regional universities. The fourth part describes the curriculum and the changes since its establishment, and includes findings of the two major peer reviews it has undergone. The fifth part reports on "client" evaluations, and the sixth reviews national trends in nontraditional education. The final chapter summarizes the findings and presents recommendations. (Author/MSE)