A longitudinal study examined the factors affecting the long-term success of a midwestern tech prep consortium consisting of one community college and four counties with a mix of rural, urban, and suburban communities. The study was designed to identify the effects of systematic change over time from the following perspectives: students' skill gains; how and what teachers teach; the broader school environment in which instruction occurs; district-level, parental, and business support for tech prep; and the impact of state and federal policies on local-level tech prep programming. The following data collection methods were used: review of historical documents; analysis of educational records; participant observation; field observation of business classrooms in a high school, comprehensive high school, vocational center, and community college; surveys; and interviews. Six months after the study had begun, a number of aspects of implementation of systematic change were identified. The consortium seemed to be nearing the "takeoff" point in the process of communicating innovation through specified channels over time to members of the community's social system. Early adopters of the tech prep system had discovered how to communicate information about the program and had identified and enlisted the support of key leaders. (Contains 20 references.) (MN)