A significant reason for the establishment of the junior college was the desire to limit the achievement of large numbers of college entrants, because there were not enough high level jobs for all who aspired to complete traditional degrees. In the history of the junior college movement, this problem of mass education has been attacked by providing vocational education, which allows large numbers of students access to schooling without disturbing the shape of the social structure. The shift in junior colleges from a transfer to a career emphasis is related to the expansion of higher educational opportunities and increasing college enrollments. The two-track (vocational and academic) educational system in America developed first in the high school and later in the junior college. In the junior college, this tracking is insidious because there is a pronounced class and racial bias in the composition of student populations in vocational programs. The California Master Plan for 1960-1975 illustrates the channeling and tracking of students into programs more suited to occupational imperatives than to the aspirations or abilities of entering students. Evidence indicates the growing regressive power of two-year colleges and that going to a community college thwarts a student's academic chances. The challenge of the 80's is to provide real opportunities for students to realize their potential. (RC)