Photos Veronica Barajas are her parents. Barajas' parents never attended school in Mexico. They're leaning how to support and encourage their daughter during her journey through college. More photos

Community colleges serve an important role in California. With their accessibility and low fees, community colleges are a popular way for an increasingly diverse population to meet a wide range of education goals. But can a system that serves 2.5 million continue to be all things to all students?

Over the course of eight months, our reporting took us from the state’s very first community college in Fresno to a state-of-the-art laboratory in San Francisco. We met with students, teachers, counselors, administrators and education analysts. What follows are 10 stories highlighting the state's winning programs as well as the struggles faced by our community colleges.

Part 1:
History
Aired May 7, 2007
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California’s community college system is the largest higher education institution in the world, serving more than two and a half million students. We begin our series by exploring the mission of the system and how it’s evolved over the last 100 years.
Reporter: Sasha Khokha

Part 2:
Vocational Training
Aired May 17, 2007
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Vocational Training
California’s economy is constantly adjusting to changes in the job market. Outsourcing, downsizing, and the tech boom have many turning to community colleges for vocational training. We take a look at how well these programs are serving the Central Valley, where unemployment is nearly twice as high as the rest of the state.
Reporter: Sasha Khokha

Part 3:
21st-Century Careers
Aired June 18, 2007
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Community colleges have long played an important role in training students for careers as nurses, firefighters and auto mechanics. Now, some schools are expanding those career horizons by preparing students for new kinds of jobs. This segment takes a look at a program that’s training for careers working with stem cells.
Reporter: Erika Kelly

Part 4:
Making the Transition
Aired June 25, 2007
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On the first day of class, many college professors often intimidate their students with this warning: “Look at the person on your right; now the one on your left. One of you won’t be here by the end of the semester.” For California’s community colleges, this statement has some truth to it -- only a quarter of students will graduate or transfer to a four-year college. As we find out, it may be because they aren’t fully prepared to make the jump from high school to college.
Reporter: Kathryn Baron

Part 5:

		Yuba College professor Lisa Jensen-Martin stands at the front of a stadium-style classroom. See photos

Stretched Dollars, Strained Students
Aired September 10, 2007
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On a per-student basis, California's community colleges receive less state funding than universities and elementary schools. Many say community colleges are seriously underfunded, resulting in long waits for counselors and overcrowded classrooms. The February ballot will include an initiative aimed at guaranteeing more funding for community colleges while reducing student fees. Advocates say this will go a long way to improving student achievement. However, others say the way funding is distributed and spent at the community college level is as much a problem as the amount of funding the schools receive.
Reporter: Tamara Keith

Part 6:

		Angelica Torres and Angel Aguinica, students at West Hills College. See photos

Rethinking the Basics
Aired Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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More than 70 percent of California community college students enter unprepared for college math or English. And for every 10 who take a remedial class, only six complete it. Community colleges across the state are taking a hard look at how to fix their “basic skills” programs. And some schools, like West Hills College in Kings County, are using innovative strategies.
Reporter: Sasha Khokha

Part 7:

		Salomon Vasquez, student at College of the Sequoias See photos

Latinos Breaking Down Barriers
Aired Wednesday, September 19, 2007
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Latino students are more likely to enroll in community college than any other higher education institution. Still, some Latino students face significant obstacles, including the pressure to work and support their families as well as some cultural barriers as first-generation college students. Educators in the Central Valley are trying to reach out to Latinos, particularly young men, to encourage them to go to college. But, that also means reaching out to their parents.
Reporter: Sasha Khokha
More: College - It's Worth It [pdf] - An English and Spanish-language comic distributed by Merced College to encourage Latinos to attend college.

Part 8:

		Veronica Barajas and her parents. See photos

Charting a New Course
Aired Thursday, September 20, 2007
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Veronica Barajas comes from a family of ten children. Neither of her parents ever attended school in Mexico. She says it’s hard to explain to them what an A or a B is or why she needs time to do homework. She struggled through high school, but earned a 3.9 GPA her first year at College of the Sequoias in Tulare County. She credits her success to the Puente Program, which pairs Latino students with counselors and teachers. The program also helps parents understand what college is all about. Education experts say these kinds of programs show tremendous results, yet they only help a small number of students because they’re so expensive to run.
Reporter: Sasha Khokha

Part 9:
Who's Missing Out?
Aired Wednesday, September 26, 2007
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African American men aren’t enrolling in California’s community colleges as often as students from other ethnic groups. Educators say there are a number of issues driving this trend. Some young men must work to support their families and can’t afford the time or money to attend school. And some, who live with violence on a daily basis, don’t imagine they’ll live to be 25. To them, college seems like a waste of time. A program at Contra Costa College is reaching out to local middle and high school students in hopes that they will envision a brighter future for themselves.
Reporter: Erika Kelly

Part 10:
Grading Our Schools
Aired Friday, September 28, 2007
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Community colleges have entered a new era of accountability. Under a legislative mandate, the California community college system recently issued its first report detailing how its students are faring. Of those students who are attempting to get a certificate, degree and/or transfer to a four-year college, only a little more than half are succeeding. A separate, independent study showed even worse results—only a quarter are achieving their goals. Critics say if the numbers don’t change, California won’t be able to meet its workforce needs in the future.
Reporter: Debra Baer

Statistics

Source: Public Policy Institute of California, California Counts, Population Trends and Profiles, Volume 8 Number 2 (November 2006)

Source: Public Policy Institute of California, California Counts, Population Trends and Profiles, Volume 8 Number 2 (November 2006)