Designed to provide information for the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges' review of the state's Master Plan for Higher Education, this two-part report presents background on recent research on the community college mission and describes processes currently available to the Board to establish priorities within the mission. Part I of the report begins with a review of historical developments affecting the mission of the community colleges since the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. Next, the recommendations of recent publications dealing with the future of the community colleges are summarized; two views of the community college (as a flexible, market-oriented provider of a wide range of educational services or as an institution providing more traditional college functions) are contrasted. The final sections of part I describe statewide developments in California related to mission, including ad hoc activities, and planned and more purposeful attempts to clarify the community college mission. Part II focuses on state-level decision making as it affects mission priorities, providing an examination of the current structures, decision-making entities, and the tools available to set mission priorities. This section looks at the various methods available to the Legislature, the Board of Governors, and local districts for esablishing priorities, and current and projected efforts to evaluate mission priorities. (AYC)