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Abstract
The Florida community college system has long been recognized as one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive. The 28‐college system was completed in 1972; the early master plan conceived by Dr. James L. Wattenbarger put a college within commuting distance of virtually every resident in the state. This article traces the more recent evolution of the system (1983‐1996) from a topical and trend perspective. Some topics addressed are: enrollment, tax support, lottery support, student fee support, college‐level skill testing, technical education, performance‐based incentive funding, and performance‐based budgeting. The closing section offers a brief discussion of the outlook for the system and mentions some of the forces that will help shape that future. Overall, the article provides an insider's view of the community college system in our nation's fourth largest state.