This monograph contains the proceedings of a conference that provided a forum for those who design, develop, conduct, evaluate, or administer competency-based educational programs for adults regardless of the program setting. Introductory materials include an overview of the conference, an introduction, and a foreward that summarizes the previous six national conferences. Two addresses are presented. In the first, "Forming Linkages in the Learning Society," K. Patricia Cross notes that the changing role of education, the changing nature of the student clientele, and the resultant need for changes in practice speak strongly for the use of competency-based approaches. In the second presentation, John Lawson, Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, looks at the need for adult education and the response of the Massachusetts Board of Education to the need. Synopses of 31 workshops are then provided. Topics covered include program evaluation, education for rural adults, adult reading competence, adult reading management systems, developing and assessing vocational competence, higher education for the incarcerated, linking academic basic skills to jobs, adult education linkages, adult diploma programs, and limited English proficiency adults. Appendixes list sponsors, committee members, exhibitors, and participants. (YLB)