Rhode Island College's innovative program of baccalaureate education for registered nurses is described, and guidelines and materials used in the program are included. The federally funded project was designed to: identify the competencies the registered nurse (RN) applicant brings to the program and place the student accordingly; develop a flexible curriculum that can be individualized; and implement the program with 30 RN students each year. For the entering RN student with diploma or associate degree background, there are three parts for the junior-level nursing course: four written examinations, Clinical Performance Examination (CPE), and a written paper on a current nursing issue. The four written examinations concern care of the adult, care of the child, psychiatric mental health, and maternal and infant care. The CPE is a 2-day practicum administered in the acute-care setting with an adult client. It is designed to test in the clinical setting the student's ability to meet junior-level objectives that cannot be fully evaluated through written or other methods. The CPE is outlined in terms of criteria for client selection, activities to be completed, and grade assignment. Supplementary materials include: forms for the CPE; guidelines for the placement process at the senior level; learning activities form; advanced placement process; and a paper presented at a 1981 nursing workshop entitled "Adult Learning/Teaching: Implications for Curriculum." Appended materials include: a list of rules for effective adult learning; a list of behaviors as objectives of graduate study in adult education; a list of programs of study for nursing majors; forms for attitudinal testing and evaluation by the student; and a glossary. (SW)