The California Community College System is composed of 110 two-year colleges statewide organized into 72 districts. It is the largest system of higher education in the world, serving over 2.5 million students each year. Community colleges are publicly supported and locally oriented colleges that offer programs for transfer to a four-year college, career education programs, remedial or "catch-up" programs for students who lack a strong educational background, and continuing education for cultural growth, life enrichment, and skills improvement. Nearly half of California's science and engineering graduates from the University of California and California State University systems are community college transfer students.