The Chancellor’s Office is the administrative branch of the California Community College system. Located in Sacramento, this state agency provides leadership and technical assistance to the 109 community colleges and 72 community college districts in California. It is also responsible for allocating state funding to the colleges and districts.

The Chancellor's Office operates under the guidance of the Board of Governors, which sets policy and provides long-range planning and guidance to the Chancellor and his staff.

The Chancellor’s Office includes seven major divisions conducting the business of the system: College Finance and Fiscal Policy Planning; Legal Affairs and Contracts; Educational Services and Economic Development; Policy, Planning and External Affairs; Student Services; Human Resources; and Internal Affairs.

Both the Chancellor's Office and the Board of Governors were created by legislation passed in 1967 (prior to that, the community colleges fell under the guidance of the State Board of Education). Since then, more colleges have joined the system, making it today the largest system of higher education in the world. Our colleges serve more than 2.5 million students who have a wide variety of educational and career goals.