In an attempt to stimulate discussion on directions and priorities for the California community colleges (CCC), this monograph examines six issues likely to affect the colleges during the 1980's. The monograph first reviews recent literature pointing to an erosion of the colleges' transfer, vocational, and general education functions and then discusses the following concerns: (1) overcoming the image of "two-year colleges" and assuming the role of lifelong learning centers; (2) improving the implementation of open-admissions policies through student assessment, screening, and placement in courses and programs appropriate to their skills and abilities; (3) improving articulation with high schools and utilizing newly created high school graduation proficiency exams as competency standards for entering freshmen; (4) allocating affirmative action funds to programs to recruit minority students into transfer programs and programs for severely disadvantaged minority adults; (5) determining the extent to which colleges should provide remediation; and (6) maintaining the transfer function in light of the declining number of transfer students and the efforts of public four-year colleges to raise academic standards. The report concludes with a discussion of the growing number of nontraditional students in the CCC system since 1960 and is appended by a bibliography and a classification scheme of instructional and community services. (JP)