The State Center Community College District has adopted the glossy, ambitious, can-do "Vision for Success," a strategic plan through 2007 to meet and overcome economic and other challenges.

In the plan, district Chancellor Tom Crow cited changing demographics and tough economic times and describes the document as a blueprint.

In his office last week, Crow said the 21-page document reflects long discussion and analysis by more than 100 people and 10 task forces about better learning and overall operations.

Summing it up, he called the statement an umbrella document about students' access to teaching and their success in learning.

Crow said the strategic plan will help district employees prepare for an accreditation review next fall. "I want the colleges to develop their own plans under this umbrella," he said.

The college district serves about 1 million people and 18 unified and high school districts.

It educates some 34,000 students in most of Fresno and Madera counties and parts of Kings and Tulare counties.

State Center operates Fresno City College, Reedley College and North Centers campuses in Clovis, Madera and Oakhurst. Its other operations include the Career and Technology Center and the Training Institute, which seek to equip students with skills for jobs and to direct employers to workers equipped for their positions.

Lawyer William J. Smith, president of the State Center Board of Trustees, hopes the vision statement leads to concrete results, but he conceded a problem: "There is no money for it."

That shortage is part of the reason the district needs "Vision for Success," Crow said. The document is about directing and focusing limited resources toward learning.

Smith hopes the document motivates the district to "start doing something we have not, in my opinion, done enough: that is, changing our focus toward those who are not on the academic track."

The college district has had to assume responsibilities once taken on by high schools to prepare students for careers, Smith said.

He hopes the vision statement helps the state "recognize that we are in a deprived area."

The vision statement said: "While the economy of California is troubled, the economy of the central San Joaquin Valley is one of the worst in the state."

The statement mentioned the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative as an effort to address high regional unemployment, and said the district should participate.

A large part of the unemployment problem lies in the fact that the region's education level lags behind the state's as a whole, the document said.

In California, 22% of people 25 and older hold less than a high school diploma, compared to 32% in Fresno County.

The state population 25 years and older includes 18% with bachelor's degrees, compared to 13% in Fresno County.

In California, 10% of people over 25 hold graduate or professional degrees,compared to 6% in Fresno County.

The 2002 California High School Exit Exam found that only 39% of Fresno County students passed the English language section, and roughly the same number passed the math. A large share of the population does not speak English as its native language, the district's statement said.

Despite all that, the document said, State Center's mission is to provide quality, innovative and accessible education.

With enrollment numbers increasing and district resources constricting, the vision statement listed goals:

Excellent teaching and learning.

Increased student access to and success in college.

Increased diversity and equity among students, faculty and staff.

Greater stress on education that equips students to succeed in the global market.

Maintenance of and efficiency from the district's physical plant.

Expanded technology with increased distance learning and online connections.

A more "collaborative culture" with better communication within the district and with the surrounding community.

A stress on "systems thinking," analyzing issues in relation to the district as a whole and to the communities it serves.

Expanded occupational training and economic development.