The four volumes of the 1988 Inventory of Academic Programs, developed by the Alabama State Commission on Higher Education, capsule an extensive variety of instructional programs offered by Alabama's 57 public institutions of higher education and the many private universities and colleges. Volume I includes information on public senior institutions and branch campuses. It provides a summary view of all programs offered for credit and culminating in an academic award as of June 1, 1988. The listing of each college and university offering a program is arranged according to the standard taxonomy developed by the National Center for Education Statistics' Classification of Institutional Programs (CIP). Following a list of Alabama's public senior institutions and of abbreviations of common degree designations, there is a taxonomy of instructional programs. Section A offers the inventory of public senior institutions, and Section B includes the inventory of public branch campuses. Each covers the CIP/field of study/program title, institution name, degrees offered, and accreditation/level. Appended is detailed information on accreditation and a listing of specialized accrediting/approving associations cited in the academic program inventory. (SM)