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Fully Online Community College Needs Concrete Plan

In response to Gov. Jerry Brown setting aside $100 million in funding for the project in his 2018-19 proposed budget, the Senate’s committee on Budget and Fiscal Review discussed the project last week, drawing support as well as criticism.

While individual community colleges throughout the state have been upgrading systems for single sign-on or resource planning, the state Legislature is reviewing Gov. Jerry Brown’s fiscal plan to build an entirely online college.

California’s Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley’s office said in a statement in support of the program: “The governor’s proposal will create a fully online community college that is accessible to working adults who seek flexible, short-term credentials to further their careers.”

The office said many “stranded workers” — of whom 49 percent are Latino, 31 percent white, 9 percent Asian and 7 percent African-American — cannot attend traditional college because they are the family breadwinner or must care for relatives.

In response to Brown setting aside $100 million in funding for the project in his 2018-19 proposed budget, the state Senate’s Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review discussed the project last week, during which support and criticism were shared.

“I think we were all saying, 'Hmmm' with this proposal,” state Sen. Ben Allen, D-26, told Techwire. “I think there’s been a lot of interest in encouraging the community college system to innovate and be cost efficient.”

Professors who attended a hearing held by Allen’s team in El Segundo on partnerships in higher education said, “It could be very effective and very useful in some contexts, and not so much in others,” Allen added.

Several community college representatives mentioned that students already struggling may further struggle with graduation requirements for the online college.

However, Oakley says the online college is a solution: “Stranded workers, who have been historically marginalized by traditional institutional education, must be given an equal opportunity to put themselves – and our economy – on a path toward greater prosperity and financial security.”

Making the program “cost-effective and efficient” were key priorities for Allen and others.

Oakley sees the college as running on a student’s calendar, not the academic one, and being supplemented with tutoring and other services.

However, a clear outline of how the college will serve students, whether it will supplement other requirements, and provide micro-credentialing or college degrees has not yet been outlined. But including work experience toward a degree is on the table.

“There’s a lot more fleshing out that needs to happen with this proposal,” Allen said.

Foothill College President Thuy Thi Nguyen said her college was one of the first to offer online courses, in the 1990s, and called for a better understanding of what the 115th California community college will offer.

State Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-30, had concerns about “pulling resources from existing programs.”

“It very much merits a close examination and perhaps approval but … it has quite a bit of vetting to undergo,” said Allen, whose father is a professor emeritus at University of California, Los Angeles.

Kayla Nick-Kearney was a staff writer for Techwire from March 2017 through January 2019.