The group that oversees the state’s 11 public universities reports that more than 17,000 Florida students – the equivalent of a medium-sized university – received credit through distance learning alone in the 2006-07 academic year.

About 152,000 students, which is more than half of the total enrollment for the State University System, are taking some of their credits via distance learning.

To accommodate their interest, universities increased the the number of distance-education course sections 19 percent over the previous year.

Donna Winchester, higher education reporter