Follow-up studies of all 1978, 1980, 1982, and 1984 graduates of Maryland community colleges were conducted 1 year after graduation. As part of these studies, the employers of graduates from occupational programs were also surveyed to determine employers' perceptions of the graduates' job performance and vocational preparation. Statewide response rates for the surveys ranged from 56% for the 1982 survey to 83% for the 1978 survey. The 2,856 employers who responded to the surveys represented a wide cross section of businesses in the state, including large and small firms, and public and private employers. Study findings included the following: (1) over the 7 year period covered by the surveys, the percentage of employers requiring an associate degree remained at approximately 31%; (2) employers were generally satisfied with graduates' familiarity with required test and laboratory equipment; (3) the percentage of employers who felt that the college preparation for job skills was at least adequate increased from 89% in 1978 to 97% in 1984; (4) the graduates' ability to learn new skills received the strongest positive rating of any of the items in the surveys; and (5) less than 1% of the employers rated graduates' technical knowledge as poor or very poor. The survey instrument is appended. (EJV)