U.S. community colleges report distance courses have increased by 22 percent from fall 2007 to fall 2008, according to a distance learning survey recently released by the Instructional Technology Council (ITC).

This community college online education growth rate compares to just two percent for traditional courses—and shows that college distance courses popularity continues to grow rapidly (the ITC found that from 2006 to 2007, distance education growth was 11 percent).

For most community colleges, distance education students may represent the only enrollment growth area, the study found.

More results from the 2009 ITC survey of 226 community colleges: