Public policy can sometimes be moved with great speed by a dangerous combination of money and trendiness, and right now MOOCs are trending with the help of some deep-pocketed backers. This can lead to unintended consequences. Such may be the case with a bill pending before the California legislature that would funnel hundreds of thousands of community college students (and others) into MOOCs (Massive Open On-line Classes).

In his blog, Rob Jenkins notes that hundreds of thousands of students in California are being turned away from community colleges because of budget cuts, but concludes that MOOCs are not the answer to providing access.

Before we close the door on face to face teaching for the populations served by community colleges, Jenkins suggests we study the data. Now that’s a novel idea.