The growth of online education has slowed down among community colleges, but it is still outpacing overall enrollment, while the quality of the education offered has improved from a pale imitation to a worthy competitor, administrators say. More than 5.5 million community college students enrolled in distance education programs in 2013-14, according to the 10th annual "Distance Education Survey" from the Instructional Technology Council (ITC), an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Distance education enrollments represent almost the entire growth of community colleges during the past decade. During that time frame, the costs of technology have come down sharply, the Internet has become faster and enabled students to access information anywhere at any time, and phones have become "smart." All of which has made online education more accessible, "especially to working adults, caregivers, students with disabilities, and others who have schedules and responsibilities that are incompatible with their attendance in traditional, face-to-face classroom instruction," the report notes.