This paper describes one instructor's experiences in teaching an introductory psychology course in a traditional college (Rhode Island College) setting and in the College's nontraditional Urban Educational Center. The students at the Center, which offered tuition-free enrollment classes in high school equivalency preparation, adult basic education, and introductory-level college subjects, ranged in age from late teenage to elderly, and were primarily from low income minority families. The sample included 368 students from both institutions who completed at least the first examination in the course between 1975 and 1980. Although both categories of students were found to perform at about the same academic level, there were far more dropouts from the non-traditional setting. (CJM)