Since 1970, external degree programs (programs for adult students who cannot attend on-campus courses on a regular basis) have become an educational alternative for the adult woman returning to or entering an educational setting. These innovative programs are ideal for the woman who must integrate the roles of worker, mother and student. A pilot project was conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, involving 30 rural women who had returned to the University, many in the Extended Degree Program. Although the findings were similar to the other studies of the returning woman student, a different pattern of responses for the married and non-married student was found. For instance, significantly more nonmarried than married women were degree-oriented. Nonmarried women were more likely to state personal growth as one of their goals in relation to school. Also, they counted many more friends as support persons than did the marrieds. The project revealed that women must gain knowledge of how the system operates in order to participate in social policy development. (Author/BP)