The California Community Colleges is the
largest higher educational system in the nation comprised of
72 districts and 109 colleges with more than 2.5 million
students per year.
Click here to view a
map of all California Community College locations.
Community colleges supply workforce
training and basic skills education, prepare students for
transfer to four-year institutions and offer opportunities
for personal enrichment and lifelong learning. The System
Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the
direction of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges.
The System Office is the administrative branch of the
California Community College system, and is located in
Sacramento. It is also responsible for allocating state
funding to the colleges and districts.
The System Office operates under the guidance of the Board
of Governors, which sets policy and provides long-range
planning and guidance to the Chancellor and his staff.
The System Office includes ten major divisions conducting
the business of the system: Academic Affairs, College
Finance and Facilities Planning; Economic Development and
Workforce Planning; Governmental Relations; Human Resources;
Internal Operations; Legal Affairs; Strategic Planning and
Communications; Student Services and Special Programs; and
Technology, Research, and Information Systems.
Both the System Office and the Board of Governors were
created by legislation passed in 1967 (prior to that, the
community colleges fell under the guidance of the State
Board of Education). Since then, more colleges have joined
the system, making it today the largest system of higher
education in the world.
The System Office
Mission
Statement:
"Empowering Community Colleges Through Leadership, Advocacy,
and Support"
The System Office vision:
To build a better future for California by providing
exceptional leadership, advocacy and support for the Board
of Governors and California’s community colleges. These
efforts will foster access, success and lifelong learning
for all students while simultaneously advancing the state’s
interests in a skilled workforce and an educated citizenry.
The System Office will secure and use resources effectively
and forge partnerships with local districts and colleges,
public policy makers, and members of the business,
non-profit, K-12 and higher education communities while
ensuring accountability and serving as conscientious
stewards of the public trust.
The System Office will deliver valuable human and financial
resources to support college programs, research, policy
development and the use of emerging technology throughout
the California community colleges.
We will be the state’s leader in community college policy,
advocacy and achievement and be a powerful catalyst for
advancing policy, legislative and funding goals. With
adequate resources, we will identify and address
demographic, economic, political and technological trends
affecting education and the workforce.
The System Office will promote and publicize the richness,
value and diversity provided to individuals, business, local
communities and California as a whole by the colleges,
students, faculty and staff.
Board of Governors:
The Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges sets policy and
provides guidance for the 72 districts and 109
colleges which constitute the system.
The 17-member Board,
appointed by the state's Governor, formally
interacts with state and federal officials and other
state organizations. The Board of Governors selects
a Chancellor for the system. The Chancellor, through
a formal process of consultation, brings
recommendations to the Board, which has the
legislatively granted authority to develop and
implement policy for the colleges. Additionally,
each of the 72 community college districts in the
state has a locally-elected Board of Trustees,
responsive to local community needs and charged with
the operations of the local colleges. The governance
system of the California Community Colleges is one
which uses processes of "shared governance." In
March 1988, the Board of Governors adopted a process
known as "consultation," through which a council
composed of representatives of selected community
college institutional and organizational groups,
assist in development and recommendation of policy
to the Chancellor and Board of Governors.
Consultation Council:
The
community college governance structure
established by the community college reform
legislation (AB 1725 [Stats. 1988, Ch. 973],
required the Board of Governors to establish
and maintain a Consultation Process at the
state level to ensure local community
college district participation in system
policy making (Ed. Code 70901(e)). In turn,
local districts are required not only to
employ participatory governance within their
districts (Ed. Code § 70902(b)(7)), but to
"participate in the consultation process
established by the board of governors for
the development and review of policy
proposals." (Ed. Code § 70902(b)(14).)
The process established by
the Board of Governors pursuant to this
mandate has evolved over the years into a
"Consultation Council" comprised of 18
representatives of institutional groups such
as trustees, executive officers, students,
administrators, business officers, student
services officers, and instructional
officers, and representative organizations,
such as faculty and staff unions and
associations. Pursuant to Education Code
Section 70901(e), its purpose is to
facilitate the participation of community
college districts in the development of
community college policy in order to insure
that the best interests of the students, the
system, and the state are served. The
Consultation Council is chaired by the
Chancellor and meets once per month to
review and evaluate new policy proposals
necessitated either by legal requirements or
local need, appoint task groups to develop
new policy proposals, review and provide
advice on policy issues currently in
development, and review and provide advice
on the work of standing committees
developing annual system proposals, such as
the budget and legislative programs.
The formal
Consultation Process allows the entire
community college system to advise the
Chancellor, who makes recommendations to the
Board of Governors, on matters of policy.
The purpose of the Consultation Process is
to strengthen a system of communications,
policy development, and review to ensure the
quality and effectiveness of college
operations and programs.
Legislation affecting the
California Community Colleges is, for the most part,
channeled through the Board of Governors and
presented to the Legislature.
