Online learning's big benefit: Low gas cost - STEVEN BUSHONG, THE PEORIA JOURNAL STAR

Matt Vissering drives a 1992 Ford Thunderbird 45 miles to class at Illinois Central College twice a week. Each week, he spends $100 from his three part-time jobs on gasoline for his aging car. So to cut down on expenses, he enrolled this summer in an online course, Music 150. "I'm going to be a networker; I love computers," the 20-year-old Toluca man said. "But I hate these classes." Students' reactions to and successes in online courses are as varied as their reasons for taking them, yet one thing has become clear in recent months: The rise in gas prices mirrors increases in online course enrollment.