The need for and success of the external undergraduate degree program at the University of Redlands, California, in meeting the educational and occupational goals of a selected population of graduates were assessed. A 21-item questionnaire was administered to alumni of 3 external bachelor degree programs. Sixty-seven respondents had been awarded the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies during 1975-1978; 50 respondents obtained the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management during 1977-1979; and 87 respondents obtained the Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration during 1978-1979. Study objectives were as follows: (1) to identify professional, educational, and personal benefits derived from the respective degree programs; (2) to identify specific factors that chiefly motivate students to enter and complete an external degree program and to determine whether these factors existed at Redlands University; and (3) to quantify the Redlands alumni perceptions and evaluations of the quality and value of their academic experience while external degree students. Findings include the following: a significant number of graduates (77.5 percent) would not have returned to college to complete a bachelors program had not an external, nontraditional degree program been available; the most important factors listed to enter and complete the external program were part-time curricular offerings in the evening, the less time needed to earn the degree than a traditional setting, and geographic convenience of offerings; 92 percent indicated the educational value of their external degree program requirements to be greater than earlier traditional experiences; and job promotions and salary raises were outcomes of external degrees. (Author/SW)