This article looks at the growth of distance education, which increased by 30 percent between 2012 and 2016 in the United States. Russell Poulin, director of policy and analysis at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Cooperative for Educational Technologies, summarizes the findings of a survey that the organization conducted. The survey looks at the motivations for increasing distance education offerings, such as improving access to education and finding funding, and some of the effects of the increase at institutions. He concludes that there are no simple answers, and that answers vary from place to place. Also, there is rarely a single motivation for increasing distance education enrolments.
https://wcetfrontiers.org/2018/02/01/de-growth-access-is-a-big-motivator