The establishment of the Norwegian regional colleges is reviewed, based on an international project conducted by the Institute of Education of the European Cultural Foundation. This project involved 10 case studies of educational reforms or policy changes in European countries since the 1960s or early 1970s. Attention is directed to the original goals for the new Norwegian regional colleges, the current situation, and the different factors that influenced the developments. The regional colleges have been referred to as "short-cycle institutions": those primarily providing vocationally-oriented training significantly shorter than traditional university education. These colleges also offer certain courses that could be credited toward traditional university degrees. In addition, the regional colleges are designed to contribute to the development of the region and to provide adult or recurrent education. In addition to considering these different kinds of educational offerings, conflicts among the different educational objectives are addressed. In regard to the present state of the reform, the following concerns are discussed: the teaching staff, students, student participation and teaching methods, pattern of organization, content of the different curricula, the employment situation, transfer, geographical distribution of students and graduates, cooperation with regional institutions, and the research policy. The development of the regional colleges is considered with respect to the following: administrative and financial arrangements, teacher recruitment, curriculum development, the decline of general education, and the development of research. Some theoretical considerations and the future of regional colleges are addressed, and appended materials include a list of subjects taught in 1980 and information on the Norwegian university degree system. (SW)