California Community Colleges Announce Virtual Town Hall to Develop Strategic Vision for the System

April 11, 2017

Paul Feist

Office: 916.327.5353

E-mail: pfeist@cccco.edu

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, with support from the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation and College Futures Foundation, is soliciting input from the public through a virtual town hall as part of an effort to develop a long-term, ambitious vision for the California Community Colleges.

“The virtual town hall allows us to hear from all Californians to ensure our colleges serve the needs of our communities as well as respond to the challenges and opportunities facing our state now and in the future,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

This effort will inform a strategic vision for the California Community Colleges, the largest system of higher education in the nation. The strategic vision will articulate clear goals for the system and provide recommendations for how to accomplish those goals over the next five years. The resulting document will be presented to the Chancellor and Board of Governors in July of 2017.

The Success Center for California Community Colleges is facilitating this strategic vision process for the Chancellor. Housed at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, the Success Center was launched in 2014 in an effort to advance the 2012 Student Success Initiative and significantly improve student outcomes by serving as a hub that promotes the sharing, adoption, and implementation of effective practices and policies across the Community College system.

“The Success Center is excited to engage the public to develop a strategic vision for the system that builds upon existing effective practices and opportunities,” said Sandra Fried, executive director of the Success Center for California Community Colleges. “Our goal is to support efforts to improve student success and ensure our system is prepared to meet the state’s needs.”

Support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation and College Futures Foundation will help to ensure that improving student success will be integrated into the overall work and direction of the California Community Colleges.

“We are proud to support the efforts of the Chancellor to shape the vision of the California Community Colleges,” said Keetha Mills, president and CEO of the Foundation for California Community Colleges. “The virtual town hall will help to ensure that all Californians have the opportunity to contribute to the future vision for the community colleges.”

All Californians—including current students, alumni and community members—are invited to share their thoughts to improve the ways the California Community Colleges serve the state by visiting this website. Responses will be collected until May 31, 2017.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills education and prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions. The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. For more information about the community colleges, please visit our website.