Representing current viewpoints of academics, futures experts, and social observers, this external environmental forecast presents projections and information of particular relevance to the future of Catonsville Community College. The following topics are examined: (1) population changes and implications for higher education; (2) state and local demographic changes; (3) the national economy; (4) inflation; (5) interest rates; (6) unemployment; (7) the short- and long-term national economic outlook; (8) national growth and labor force projections; (9) the work ethic in the 1980s; (10) the social-political climate of the 1980s and 1990s; (11) the state and higher education; (12) the current condition of higher education; and (13) the future of postsecondary education. For each topic, corollaries are presented, drawing plausible inferences from the reading and analysis of the information in the preceding section. (LAL)