University of New Mexico has seen a nearly 50-percent increase over last year in the number of credit hours that its students are taking in online courses.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that university leaders say the spike is a sign that the school is becoming more accessible.
Students at the university this fall are taking 30,728 credit hours of online courses.
Online course registrations have more than quintupled in the past decade, and the university expects they will keep growing.
Data collected by the Babson Survey Research Group and the College Board show the number of online courses students take around the country is growing exponentially.
Still, the survey found students at University of New Mexico take fewer online courses than the national average.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.