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 A century ago, distance education consisted of schoolwork being sent hundreds of miles away through the regular mail, taking days to arrive. Today, with the advent of the Internet, students from around the world can connect with universities and colleges.
And it sure looks like they are taking advantage of it: Online learning is the fastest growing segment of education, with 3.5 million adults taking an online course or completing their degrees entirely online, according to the United States Distance Learning Association.
At last week's Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning, it was reported that more than 25 percent of all college and university students may have taken at least one online class this year, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
That percentage may be even higher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is celebrating 100 years of providing distance education Nov. 9-13.
 Laura Wiese, recruitment coordinator for the Office of Extended Education and Outreach, said she wouldn't be surprised if the majority of UNL students have taken at least one online course.
"Once they've taken one course they find they like it, that it works well with their schedule," Wiese said.
The Chronicle also reported that enrollment in online education has grown by 12.9 percent since 2006.
The growth in distance education at UNL has been even greater. The number of undergraduate students taking distance education courses increased by 75.8 percent between fall 2008 and fall 2009, according to Extended Education and Outreach.
Last year, 1,464 undergraduate students were enrolled in online courses at UNL. This year, that number has jumped to 2,573.
On the other hand, the number of graduate students enrolled in online courses seems to have stalled. There was only a four-tenths of 1 percent increase in the number of graduate student taking online classes, from 1,616 in fall 2008 to 1,622 this year.
The reason fewer graduate students are involved may be that Extended Education and Outreach has shifted its focus from graduate courses to undergraduate classes, Wiese said. That can be seen in the number of courses each program offers. The number of undergraduate courses jumped from 89 last year to 169 this year. However, graduate courses dipped from 228 last fall to 212.
"We're still ramping up the undergraduate classes," Wiese said. "Things are a little more established with the graduate courses."
Wiese said enrollment in both undergraduate and graduate online courses is only expected to continue to increase - perhaps even for another 100 years.
"This really is the future of education," she said. "This area is only going to continue to grow."
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