INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - An estimated 28,000 Indiana students took college classes through the Internet, cable and DVD in the 2003-04 school year, educators said.

The state's seven public universities and three private colleges offer courses through what is known as distance learning. Ivy Tech State College, which offers mostly two-year degree programs, had the largest number of course enrollments, 36,000, followed by Indiana University's 25,000 statewide The Indianapolis Star reported.

"There is a large untapped market still out there when you think of the adults who don't have a postsecondary education," said Susan Scott, director of e-learning for the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System.

Since most students taking distance learning courses are doing so part-time, they equal about 10,000 full-time students -- slightly more than the enrollment of the University of Southern Indiana.

"Some adults may have been a little dubious about taking an online course in the past," Scott said. "It's less strange now."

Scott attributes Indiana's growth in distance learning to the state's focus on older students. Most are working adults, with more than half women, the majority with children at home.

Caitlin Ward, 20, works in Ivy Tech's admissions office almost 40 hours a week and takes a full class load. Last semester, she found that the online English composition class gave her the flexibility she needed.

"I loved it online," she said. "My teacher was very quick with responses online whenever I had problems."