This is the first comprehensive and contemporary history of the largest and most diverse public system of higher education in the United States. Serving over 2 million students annually—approximately one-quarter of the nation's community college undergraduates—California's 116 community colleges play an indispensable role in career and transfer education in North America and have maintained an outsized influence on the evolution of postsecondary education nationally. A College for All Californians chronicles the sector's emergence from K–12 institutions, its evolving mission and growth following World War II and the G.I. Bill For Education, the expansion of its ever-broadening mission, and its essential role in the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. Chapters cover California's junior and community colleges' development, mission, governance, faculty, finances, athletics, student support services, and more. It also examines the successes and ongoing political, financial, and educational challenges confronting this uniquely American educational experiment. Book Features:Encapsulates the evolution and contemporary status of our nation's largest and most diverse undergraduate education system. Examines how the colleges were influenced by the political, economic, and social issues of the day. Includes new historical information affecting postsecondary education in California. Analyzes some of the most important current and emerging issues that will continue to influence California's community colleges.