Chancellor's Office

A Pathways in Practice is a published Chancellor’s Office document that describes how a California community college is operating as an academic institution to serve students whose education is taking place inside or after time in justice settings. Each document names the college, describes the design choices that make the practice possible, explains how a peer college can build their own version, and identifies the Vision 2030 commitment the practice advances. Each document has similar sections and formats to standardize the content and ensure practitioners walk away to what they need to implement a practice in their campus. This document explains each section and provides an overview of what readers can expect.

A data dashboard is a centralized, visual tool that aggregates student-level information into one accessible platform. It transforms raw data — enrollments, appointments, grades, and services — into meaningful insights that drive decisions. For Rising Scholars Directors and coordinators, it replaces disconnected spreadsheets and siloed records with a single source of truth that is updated in real time, or as frequently as possible, and accessible to authorized staff across your campus. Rising Scholars programs support students who bring significant resilience, lived experience, and determination to their educational journeys. Consistent data allows colleges to better understand student experiences, demonstrate program impact, and identify opportunities to strengthen support and success. A shared dashboard across campuses promotes continuous improvement, informs grant reporting, highlights promising practices, and helps the Chancellor’s Office understand what is working statewide—so effective strategies developed in one region can be adapted and expanded across all 116 colleges.

Workforce readiness is a central priority in Vision 2030 and is particularly important for the Rising Scholars student population. Students held or supervised across the High Desert region were pursuing workforce-relevant education and a credible path to employment that the local landscape did not yet make available to them. Adults at the Federal Correctional Complex in Victorville, women approved for furlough, youth in the county detention facility, and people on parole and probation were reaching for credentials they could carry directly into the labor market and for a first authentic encounter with college. Victor Valley College treated that pursuit as an academic obligation and designed CTE infrastructure that reaches students where they are held or supervised, rather than waiting for them to arrive on a traditional campus.

The Access Project was founded in 2019 to improve access to high-quality legal services to people of limited means. Through creative use of technology and innovative program design, we leverage the resources and enthusiasm of law firm volunteers to complement and support the work of legal services organizations.

Rising Scholars programs can be established at any time. To support this ongoing momentum, this article outlines concrete steps practitioners can take to launch a program or strengthen their readiness for the next RFA cycle. 

The California Community Colleges is committed to providing textbooks and digital course content to students in correctional facilities. The Rising Scholars Textbook and Digital Course Content Initiative (TDCC) is a program designed to provide free textbooks and digital course content to support students in correctional institutions. This document provides an overview of the program and resources to get Colleges started.

Memorandum of Understanding between CDCR and local community colleges providing face-to-face instruction.

This memorandum provides information regarding available funds for colleges teaching students that are currently incarcerated in state prisons. A total of $3 million is available to colleges to provide textbooks or digital course content to students under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) who are enrolled in one or more California community college course.

This legal advisory provides a survey of applicable laws and suggests an approach to employment decisions that will help community colleges comply with their legal obligations.

The Chancellor for the California Community Colleges issued policy guidance intended to expand hiring for qualified students, faculty and staff with criminal records. The policy guidance accompanies the legal advisory issued on December 31, 2018.