Guest Editorial: An online-only community college? Start it up

This editorial is from the San Diego Union-Tribune:

In January 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown used a Sacramento news conference to make the case that California's public universities needed to do a much better job of using technology to make college classes more accessible and affordable. Students must “be able to get through school quicker without pushing up costs,” Brown declared.

Since then, the University of California, California State University and the California Community Colleges all have expanded online courses, and their leaders say the right things about the value of their online programs. But in May, Brown decided he wanted more. He wrote a letter to California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley directing him to “take whatever steps are necessary to establish a new community college that - exclusively - offers fully online degree programs.”

Oakley followed through, and last week, the California Community Colleges' Board of Governors began examining three options. One would set up a new community college for an online-only degree; the second would base the program at an existing campus; and the third would have several campuses jointly run the initiative.

Some California Community Colleges board members criticized Brown's push for an online-only college, saying it was being rushed through. But the governor is right to be impatient. Online education has immense potential to help not just recent high school graduates but older adults obtain new job skills and credentials. As the world's tech capital, California should strive to realize this potential.