Community colleges are facing a demographic shift in their student bodies with significant consequences for how they can utilize instructional innovations such as online education. On the one hand, community colleges are educating an increasing number of adult learners, with a set of psychological, academic, and personal characteristics that make this population likely to benefit from the flexibilities provided in the online environment. At the same time, community colleges are also now educating a growing number of younger and academically at-risk students in need of remediation and greater academic structure than today's online classes may be able to deliver. Community colleges utilizing online education will need to take into account the distinct needs of these two growing populations in order to maximize student learning in the online environment.