One of the first acts of Governor Jerry Brown’s last year in office was his final state budget proposal in January. In what’s become typical fashion during his tenure, the proposal included not only a financial plan for California for the upcoming year, but a boldly comprehensive policy blueprint. Several innovative changes for California Community Colleges were part of that blueprint, including a proposal to create the 115th community college campus, fully online and under the stewardship of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.

The current budget includes $120 million in one-time and continuing funds to launch the new campus, which would not offer associate degrees but focus on certificates and industry credentials. The Community College Chancellor’s Office strongly supports the idea as a way of providing highly specific mobility pathways for 2.5 million Californians who have graduated from high school and who may have attempted college but have not completed a degree—a group referred to as “stranded workers” by the Department of Finance and the Governor’s office.

Undeniably, today’s college students—especially returning and non-traditional students—face significant barriers to success; employment, parenting, family responsibilities, and many other factors mean that reaching and supporting this group requires intensive resources and innovative collaboration to help them achieve their academic goals. However, as bold and innovative as the current proposal might be in its intentions, online learning is not without its challenges. To date, success of online programs of study are mixed. Given how important it is that this group of adults achieve economic success, there are some hard questions that need answering. The Governor’s audacity cannot overshadow the needs of millions of Californians who face limited career mobility options due to their educational attainment. It’s essential to the success of an online system to balance the real-life constraints faced by working adults with known best practices like deep instructor engagement, rigorous content, and opportunities for face-to-face interaction with the learning community.

The 115th California Community College campus could be part of an innovative strategy geared toward mobility by offering competency-based learning tied to industry recognized credentials outside of the traditional academic calendar. This type of offering isn’t currently available through California’s public offerings; in fact, most adults looking for this type of schooling often turn to for-profit institutions. A public option, held accountable by the state legislature, and developed with the needs of students—rather than profits—in mind is the state’s best chance at boosting mobility for millions of workers at scale.

Taylor Myers is Policy and Research Analyst at California Competes, a research and advocacy organization focused on California higher education policy. Her work centers around equity, innovation, and degree completion within the state’s public higher education segments. You can reach her at tmyers@californiacompetes.org