Methods of assessment to determine the nature of undergraduate college learning experiences, which have been developed or modified at Harvard University, are examined. Since the basic research objective was to determine whether change could be measured during the college years, data were gathered from freshmen, seniors, and graduates at Harvard-Radcliffe, a state college, a junior college, and a private women's college. The following areas were assessed: learning new material, sensitivity to visual and auditory stimuli, use of objects and meanings of words, cognitive styles, explaining the difference between two sets of stories in terms of a common frame of reference, ability to construct an argument, moral reasoning, logic and rhetoric of exposition, and imaginative and other qualities as measured by Murray's Thematic Apperception Test. The following themes were indicated by the findings: college major is important partly because of the long-term cognitive style students develop; interpersonal learning situations and then traditional course work affect the liberal arts influence of a college; learning styles appear to be associated with future occupation much more closely than with background characteristics; students' abilities to present effective arguments increased over the college years; and students' moral and ethical concerns increased during college. (SW)