In 1981, a statewide survey of South Carolina's 16 technical college (TEC) service areas was conducted to pinpoint technical training programs with high and low visibility in order to improve recruitment, retention, and public awareness; to determine how the colleges can best communicate the career options offered; to assess citizen awareness of the colleges' role in economic development and of how programs are financed; to examine changes in the image of technical education; and to provide the basis for more cost-effective recruiting and public information dissemination and increased cooperation among the colleges. A telephone survey of 3,368 adults representing 46 counties revealed that: (1) the programs with the most visibility included mechanics, welding, nursing, business, and computer programming; (2) 52% of the respondents said they would consider taking a course at their local technical college, and 37% had family members who were planning to enroll; (3) 39% of the respondents were aware that state taxes were the main source of funding for technical education programs; (4) 48% received information about the programs from brochures, friends, or direct mail; 27% from television; and 12% from radio; and (5) 21% of the respondents had been students at one of the technical colleges in the past. The bulk of the report consists of appendices which include the questionnaire and a breakdown of responses by college service area. (HB)