Past events, present conditions, and future possibilities provide the context for this examination of the direct or indirect control of college curricula by governmental agencies. The paper first notes that while external management may be resented by educators who are entrenched in the status quo, government intervention into college instruction is very often an expression of public opinion concerning the value of education and the direction it should take. After a discussion of the authority exercised by licensing agencies in imposing curricular requirements for vocational programs, the report examines the rationales for and consequences of methods used by the Florida legislature to control community college instruction, including: (1) the elimination of funding for recreational courses; (2) the establishment of curricular priorities which excluded many non-credit courses; and (3) proviso language which bases state funding for job training courses on the enrollment of students who have been or are currently employed in the occupation for which training is provided. An examination follows of federal external control, which is exercised indirectly by requiring colleges to divert funds from instructional programs to meet the data collection requirements of the Federal Vocational Education Data System and by rulings in educational litigation. The paper concludes with a discussion of probable intervention in the future. (JP)