Section VI: Conclusion: Our Time is Now!
Vision 2030 serves as a roadmap for student success in California — the world’s fourth largest economy.1 As global forces continue to transform how we live, learn, and work, the state’s 116 community colleges, which collectively serve more than 2.1 million students, are prepared to respond with urgency, innovation, and purpose.
Vision 2030 expands equitable access, ensures success, and strengthens student support by reimagining who we serve, how we serve, and where learning can happen.
Whether a student is logging onto the virtual campus during a night shift break, studying at home after putting their children to bed, or attending classes on campus, our system will bring college to them with flexibility, care, and high-quality education. Vision 2030 reaffirms a core truth: the future of our state depends on the success of our current and future students.
Our Time is Now!
At its heart, Vision 2030 is about unleashing potential.
The talents, innovations, and aspirations of our students fuel California’s future. One in every 17 jobs in our state is supported by the activities of our colleges and our students. This reflects our scale and our collective commitment to economic mobility, social parity, and civic vitality. To deepen and extend this impact, Vision 2030 introduces a unified framework for thoughtful, systemic action: a future where data empowers real-time decision-making; where partnerships among education, labor, and industry align resources, policy, and people, and drive workforce relevance; and where inclusive learning environments adapt to students’ lives—not the other way around.
Vision 2030 was launched in 2023, following the appointment of a new Chancellor for the California Community Colleges by the Board of Governors. As part of the development process, stakeholder engagement and a thoughtful review of research and other texts guided the work. Among the readings was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail — a powerful and urgent call to action that deeply resonated with the moment. It was from this critical reflection that the phrase “Our time is now” emerged, anchoring the bold, student-centered, equity-driven vision for the future of California’s community colleges.
“For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” …This “Wait” has almost never meant “Never.””
Martin Luther King Jr.,
Letter from the Birmingham jail
California community colleges are not waiting. Together, we are seizing this moment to build a stronger, more equitable, and more resilient California — for our students, our communities, and our planet. Our time is now!
