A research project was conducted to develop and implement a model for community college missions. The new model would depart from existing models, which utilize a hierarchy of decreasing levels of generality beginning with institutional missions and culminating in objectives. In contrast, this research defined institutional mission in terms of groups of specific activities that are themselves made up of goals and objectives. These activities are defined in terms of the services provided by an institution, the specific clientele for which these services are provided, and the rationale that is commonly advanced for providing these services. In fall 1981, a research project based on this conceptualization was conducted in Arizona. A list of more than 400 statements representing activities related to all of the missions suggested for the Arizona community colleges was compiled, refined, and eventually reduced to a 60-item Community College Activities Survey (CCAS) instrument. The CCAS was administered to more than 3,500 state and local community college governing board members, administrators, faculty, legislators, and registered voters. Factor analysis and other statistical techniques were used to identify alternative operational missions and levels of support for them among the community college constituencies. Unlike previous goals research, the results of the CCAS application showed potential for affecting the management processes of higher education institutions. (LAL)