Established in 1967, the South Orange County Community College District provides the south Orange County area with high quality, innovative, and dynamic learning environments that inspire student success.
District Mission
We provide a dynamic and innovative learning environment for diverse learners of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. We promote access, success, and equity to meet students' goals of skills development, certificates, associate degrees, transfer, or personal enrichment. We contribute to the economic vitality of the region. Our vision is to be an educational leader in a changing world.
Strategic Planning
Long-term and short-term planning coupled with effective decision-making is essential strategies to fulfill this mission. Effective planning and decision-making require a partnership of board members, faculty, staff, administrators, and students united by a collective, shared vision that student success is the most important endeavor.
District Goals
- Ensure student equity in access and achievement.
- Transform lives through learning and achievements.
- Engage with the community through athletic and cultural events, enrichment programs, and in creating economic prosperity for all.
- Optimize our institutional design and structure with a student-centered focus.
District Overview
SOCCCD is comprised of Saddleback College, in Mission Viejo, Irvine Valley College in Irvine, and the Advanced Technology & Education Park (ATEP) in Tustin. The district covers a land area of 382 square miles, serving almost one million residents in 26 communities. SOCCCD is governed by a Board of Trustees who represent seven trustee areas.
What Does District Services Do?
District Services provides centralized administrative services to the colleges under the direction of the chancellor and includes:
Accounting
The Accounting department works in conjunction with Fiscal Services to ensure the District has a sound, healthy, and compliant fiscal climate to support our colleges, students, and community, ensuring that we are good stewards of the public funds that we receive.
Benefits
The Benefits department supports the health and financial wellness of District employees and their families by managing the District’s health and wellness plans, including employee and retiree health benefits.
Central Services
The Central Services department includes the warehouse and mailroom, and supports the District by accepting and delivering packages and mail in a timely manner, processing and loading orders, and managing warehouse inventory.
Chancellor's Office
The Chancellor's Office supports the Chancellor, who is CEO of the District and supervises the college presidents, vice chancellors, and District Services admin, and sets expectations for educational excellence, integrity, and effective operation of the colleges.
Facilities Planning
The Facilities Planning department manages all major capital outlay projects ($1.5 million and above), ensuring we meet Division of State Architect (DSA) requirements, sustainability goals, health and safety standards, and legal requirements.
Fiscal Services
The Fiscal Services department works in conjunction with Accounting to ensure the District has a sound, healthy, and compliant fiscal climate to support our colleges, students, and community, ensuring that we are good stewards of the public funds.
Human Resources
The Human Resources (HR) department is responsible for managing employee recruiting, hiring, and on-boarding. HR administers employee accommodations, maintains training, conducts employer-employee relations, handles disciplinary actions, and ensures policies and practices are in compliance.
Information Technology
The Information Technology department establishes the vision and direction for district-wide online services, products, and programs for strategic use in serving the needs of students, faculty, and staff, while assuring security, reliability and continuity of district-wide network infrastructure.
Payroll
The Payroll department processes district-wide employee paychecks, audits and adjusts retirement calculations, maintains leave balances, 403b & 457b tax deferred products, unemployment reporting and worker’s compensation adjustments, retirement counseling, and issuance of W-2 tax forms.
Procurement
The Procurement department establishes the District's purchasing policies and procedures, as well as oversees obtaining supplies and equipment, providing assistance in selecting cost effective and quality, affordable products and service vendors; and processing contracts.
Public Affairs
The Public Affairs department provides support for advancing the mission of the District and its colleges through internal and external communications, government, community, and media relations, legislative advocacy, and institutional marketing.
Research and Planning
The Research and Planning department provides data analysis and suggestions for all areas, and facilitates the strategic planning process, accreditation standards, program review and institutional effectiveness studies, grant proposals, and Educational Master Plan.
Risk Management
The Risk Management department is responsible for identifying, measuring, and assessing hazards and safety issues, and preventing property, liability, income, and personnel exposures to loss, with the goal of preserving the continued successful operations of the District.