American River College is a premier learning community among California colleges, dedicated to transforming and enriching peoples' lives through education and ties with the community. Students choose American River College to earn career certificates, an associate degree, or to complete their first two years of higher education before transferring to a four-year university.

The college lets students know their importance and never allows the message and mission of a strong education to fall anywhere below their primary responsibility. By offering a culturally diverse community full of enriching perspectives, the college encourages students to recognize learning as a rewarding lifelong process.

American River College offers ongoing support and counseling to students who are unsure about their educational and career objectives. They provide remedial courses in order to advance students' basic skills so they can reach their academic or vocational targets. It is the college's goal to serve all students who are capable of benefiting from community college instruction, and to introduce those students to the broad areas of human knowledge and understanding that contribute to meaningful lives as members of a global community.