(AP) — The University of Nebraska continues to significantly expand its online education options.

Mary Niemiec, who leads NU’s distance education program, says the number of credit hours generated by students only in the distance program grew 12 percent to 57,000 last school year.

About two-thirds of those credit hours are generated by Nebraskans.

Niemiec says many students attending one of the university’s campuses also take an online course at some point to take advantage of the flexibility.

NU’s online high school program is also expanding to include more students and offer more courses.

NU President J.B. Milliken says distance education is part of the university’s mission to serve a wide range of students.