Governor Jerry Brown, whose first elected position in political life was as a community college district trustee in Los Angeles, makes a priority his proposal for an online community college in his final State of the State address in January 2018:
“With respect to higher education, it is clear just how much of our prosperity depends on the intellectual contributions of our institutions of higher learning. National leaders come from all over the world to visit California’s most innovative companies. Companies that are filled with highly educated and creative men and women — many of whom graduated from our public colleges and universities…
“Even with so many of our students attending college, there are still 2.5 million Californians between 25 and 34 who are in the workforce, but lack a postsecondary degree or certificate. These men and women often go out of state or pay high tuition at for-profit institutions to improve their skills and employability. For this group, I want to create the California Online College so these overlooked Californians can get the training they need conveniently and at very low cost.”