The student body at New York University is swelling in numbers, but you'd never know it by glancing around campus. "With online programs available at all NYU undergraduate and graduate schools, distance learning has become a convenient alternative for those who can't physically attend classes," reports a September 20, 2011 Washington Square News article. "NYU has offered undergraduate and graduate courses online for years, with the School of Continuing and Professional Studies offering the most courses."

Administrators report that during any given semester NYU sees some 1,500 students enrolled in online courses. This number represents an increase of 20 percent from 2010, a year that itself saw enrollment figures up 20 percent from the previous year.

The university's technical sciences school, NYU–Poly, has proven the most popular in terms of distance learning. The program "became a part of NYU's online education system 10 years ago and has since grown to offer 10 Master's degrees and six certificates in disciplines including cyber security, computer engineering and telecommunication networks to organizational behavior," the Washington Square News article reports.

Administrators have demonstrated their long-standing commitment to online education by steadily growing the school's distance learning programs. NYU originally offered only two online degrees. Now it offers 12.

NYU has also committed itself to expanding access to its educational product. In 2009 it inaugurated Open Education, which features YouTube video lectures on such diverse subjects in everything from the humanities to behavioral sciences.

Of course, NYU's online education programs have their critics. They air the usual concern that distance learning encourages only the merest engagement on the part of students. Though these critics may have a point, it may just be that all the kinks aren't completely worked out yet. When they are, you're sure to witness a real revolution in postsecondary education.