Friesland College (FC) in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands, provides students with an array of vocational education, including full-time senior secondary vocational education in 3- or 4-year programs; 2-year programs of full-time short courses; and an apprenticeship system, in which students learn a trade at a company while attending the college part-time. The college also offers basic adult education, training for unemployed workers, and in-company training. FC is located in an agricultural province of roughly 600,000 people with the highest unemployment rate in the Netherlands. Other factors affecting the college are decreasing numbers of young people, a shortage of 60,000 people per year nationwide in clerical and technical fields, and a 30-40% college dropout rate. To address these issues and in preparation for new legislation on education and vocational training effective in 1996, the province has undertaken the "Veranderplan," or Change Program. The program is designed to transform FC from one large institution to a group, or "flotilla," of 17 smaller units in in following seven stages: (1) five separate vocational colleges and one apprenticeship college existing at the "point of departure" (1989-90); (2) merger into one college, FC (1990-91); (3) tentative, informal merger between FC, one college for general adult education, eight centers for basic education, and an institute for socio-cultural education (1991-92); (4) formal merger, creating a Regional Education Centre (1992-93); (5) internal merger, establishing 17 individual academic units (1993-94); (6) first evaluation and introduction of total quality management (1994-96); and (7) final evaluation of process and results in time to meet the legislative requirement (January 1, 1996). (PAA)