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In summer 1983, the Howard County Employment Planning Council, Howard Community College, and several other county agencies and businesses joined forces in a countywide planning activity designed to identify important employment trends in the county and to define the need for training and retraining programs in response to those trends. A survey was mailed to 1,642 employers in Howard County, and all respondents were invited to participate in follow-up discussion meetings. Study findings, based on responses from 16% of the firms surveyed, included the following: (1) over 50% of the responding firms had 10 or fewer employees; (2) of the 15,681 employees represented by the sample, two-thirds were employed by the larger businesses; (3) within the workforce represented by the sample, 15% of the employees were in clerical occupations, 13% were in scientific-engineering occupations, 12% were in assembly occupations, and 9% were in management-related jobs; (4) the five occupations considered most critical to the long-range growth of the industries were management-related jobs, sales, clerical jobs, and computer and office equipment operations; (5) the majority of the employers saw skills in working with people as more important than data skills (e.g., computing, compiling and analyzing) and "thing" skills (e.g., tending, manipulating, and operating); (6) 73% of the respondents said that computerization and automation were the major technological changes which would affect their industry; and (7) the major training needs were seen in high technology, electronic data processing, office automation, and computers. The study report includes information on Howard County training and education resources for business and residents. (LAL)

In spring 1982, a survey was conducted to determine student use of and satisfaction with the various academic and support services provided by Howard Community College (HCC). Students were asked to rate 62 services in the following areas: counseling and advising, admissions, records, financial aid/veterans' affairs, intramural and intercollegiate activities, security, and other services. Special concerns related to cooperative education and child care were also addressed. Of the 3,323 students registered that term, 102 full-time and 144 part-time students participated in the evaluation. Their responses revealed that: (1) almost 70% of the full-time and 60% of the part-time students had used the counseling center at least once, with academic advising the most used service; (2) using a scale on which 5=excellent, 4=good, 3=satisfactory, 2=fair, and 1=poor, HCC student services received an overall rating of 3.63 from full-time respondents and 3.59 from part-time respondents; (3) only three services received less than an overall rating of 3.0, i.e., timeliness of transfer evaluations, information on intercollegiate games, and information on intramurals; (4) only 36.6% of the full-time and 12.7% of the part-time students were aware of HCC's cooperative education program; and (5) about 40% of the full-time and 56% of the part-time students indicated a need for child care at HCC. The questionnaire and a sample of student comments are appended. (AYC)

A follow-up study of students entering Howard Community College (HCC) in 1978 was conducted to obtain information on student outcomes three and one-half years after enrollment. A questionnaire developed by the Maryland Community College Research Group and the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges was sent to 592 students who entered HCC in 1978 with no previous college experience. Study findings, based on responses from 170 students, revealed: (1) 35% of the respondents indicated that their primary reason for attending HCC was to prepare for transfer to a four-year institution, and 31% wanted to prepare for immediate entry into a career; (2) 83% of those attending HCC to prepare for transfer had achieved that goal between fall 1978 and spring 1982; (3) 84% of those who wanted full-time employment had attained it; (4) 93% of the respondents were satisfied with the quality of instruction in their program, and 95% were satisfied with their preparation for transfer; (5) 37% of those with the goal of earning an associate in arts degree had earned the degree within three and one-half years of entry; (6) the primary reasons given for leaving HCC before graduating were to transfer (26%), scheduling conflict with job (10%), or personal/marriage reasons (13%); and (7) 74% of the respondents were employed full-time (52%) or part-time (22%) at the time of the survey. The study report includes data from a statewide survey of 1978 college entrants and the questionnaire. (HB)

A follow-up study of 1981 graduates of Howard Community College (HCC) was conducted to obtain demographic data, determine students' employment and educational status 6 months after graduation, and to assess graduates' satisfaction with HCC's classroom instruction and preparation for transfer/employment. Study findings, based on survey responses from 6l% of the 231 students who received a degree in 1981 and a survey of the employers of working graduates, included the following: (1) in 1981, 42 certificates and 189 associate degrees were awarded; (2) the majority of these awards (66%) were in occupational programs, followed by transfer programs (18%) and general studies awards (16%); (3) 91% of the employed graduates were satisfied with HCC preparation for employment, and 77% found jobs related to their HCC major; (4) over 96% of the transfer students reported satisfaction with their preparation, and over 86% indicated that their HCC and transfer programs were related; (5) 87% of the graduates whose primary goal was to prepare for career entry were employed, and 84% of the sample of their employers rated their training as good or very good; and (6) 83% of the graduates whose initial goal was to transfer achieved that goal and most reported a high degree of success at the senior institution. The bulk of the report consists of data tables showing survey responses for all graduates, employed graduates, and transfer graduates. Student comments and the questionnaires are appended. (AYC)