In 2001-02, the list of the 20 higher-education institutions with the largest enrollments included only four campuses that were predominantly two-year community college programs. And none of the schools would have been considered online campuses.
Several factors have brought about changes—and a different collection of institutions to the 2011-12 list. Higher-education enrollment has grown, the costs of a college education have climbed steadily, and the advance of technology has enabled institutions to connect with students no matter what the distance and offer a much more robust and interactive online learning experience.
Enrollment numbers are no longer limited by the physical limitations of a campus. So while the University of Texas at Austin, which topped the 2001 list with slightly less than 50,000 students, remains among the largest schools in 2011 (with a fall enrollment of 51,112), its numbers now are surpassed by institutions nowhere to be found on the 2001 list: the University of Phoenix Online Campus, which had 307,871, or Ashford University, with nearly 75,000 students.
Six of the top 20 and nine of the top 50 higher-education enrollments in 2011 were at institutions with sizable online programs.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, enrollment at two-year higher-education institutions grew about 22 percent from 2001 to 2011—from less than 4.7 million to 5.7 million. The increase is reflected in the 2011 list—five of the top 20 and 11 of the top 50 are community colleges with most students enrolled in two-year programs.
Eleven of the 20 higher-education institutions that had the largest enrollments in fall 2011 were predominantly online schools or two-year community colleges.