The Internet has changed the way our society goes about every day tasks. Instead of using a dictionary or encyclopedia, most of us just look up information online if we need to know something. The Internet is a huge source of information so it’s no surprise that interest in online college courses is always increasing, but it hasn’t always been in such high demand.

According to an infographic by the Education Database Online, broadcasting courses on television began in 1971 with the Open University, a U.K.-based college and 25,000 students enrolled. In 1989 University of Phoenix launched its online college and only 12 students enrolled. Now the University of Pheonix has over 500,000 students making it the largest university in the U.S. It’s 13 times larger than the University of Arizona. The Open University, which teaches most of its classes online, is the U.K.’s largest university with 250,000 students enrolled.

Even if students have a traditional college experience and don’t attend college primarily online, they’re still likely to take some classes through the Internet. Almost half of all college students take at least one class online and 3 million students in the U.S. only take online classes.

To view the full sized infographic, click on the image below.