SACRAMENTO – After years of scaling back or even eliminating summer sessions, many community colleges across California report that they will expand offerings for students this summer thanks in large part to the passage of Proposition 30 in November.

In an informal survey of the state’s 112 colleges, 67 percent of those responding indicated that they would offer more courses this summer than they did last year.

Twenty-three percent of colleges said they would offer about the same number of classes, and only 10 percent said they planned to decrease summer course offerings.

“The voters of California made a wise investment in public higher education at the polls last year, and we are working diligently to satisfy pent up demand from students who are eager to learn. This is good news for students and good news for our economy because California needs more college-educated workers,’’ said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice W. Harris.

Harris, however, cautioned that while the increase in summer courses is a positive trend, it will take years for the community colleges system to make up for the $1.5 billion in cuts that forced colleges to turn away 600,000 students over the past five years.

“We are not out of the woods by a long shot,” Harris said.

Passage of Proposition 30 means that the community college system will be able to serve about 20,000 additional students this year. Defeat of Proposition 30 would have translated into 29,000 fewer classes offered and 180,000 fewer students served.

Several of the 70 colleges responding to the survey indicated that they will expand offerings across a broad range of academic disciplines.

Some colleges reported that financial conditions did not allow them to increase the number of classes this summer, but they are changing the mix of offerings so that high-demand courses get priority.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation. It is composed of 72 districts and 112 colleges serving 2.4 million students per year.

Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills courses in English and math, and prepare students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities.

The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.