Intended to provide background information and preliminary policy options for the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation, this document explores the cost and practical feasibility of delivering distance instruction using pre-recorded broadcasts. Following introductory materials detailing the Commission's charge, the paper suggests that distance education (DE) represents a natural starting point for enhancing the efficiency of community colleges. Current uses of DE are then reviewed, describing the simple case of an institution making use of television, consortia of institutions promoting DE, and "colleges without walls" which offer only telecourses and have no campus. Next, pros and cons of DE are discussed, indicating that studies of student outcomes show that DE students learn as well or better than classroom students and that most DE programs include opportunities for teacher/student interaction contrary to common criticisms of DE. A base model is then provided for statewide distance education, including assumptions about delivery and curriculum and tables of costs per full-time equivalent student with the use of full-time instructors, the use of part-time instructors, full- and part-time instructors with extra grading time, and full- and part-time instructors with extra meeting times. This section also provides tables of potential savings per option. Finally, three options for a statewide system are discussed and four policy changes concerning removing enrollment caps to provide incentive for DE are considered. A discussion of cost assumptions and 81 references are appended. (KP)