Between shuttling her two kids to school, working full time and sitting in rush-hour traffic to and from Pearl City, Kammie Wilson barely had time to think about going back to school, let alone spend hours in a classroom each day.

That was before she discovered she could get a bachelor's degree from Chaminade University from her computer at home.

"They have classes all over the island, but I think it's good when you can be at home in your home clothes," said the 26-year-old receptionist and single mom.

Wilson joins a growing number of students in Hawai'i and across the nation who are enrolling in online courses to save commute time and gas money.

In a national survey of 3,500 online students released this month by Kaplan University, a distance-learning institution, 66 percent said the economy played a role in their decision to return to school, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Thirty-nine percent said their primary reason for choosing an online university was gas expenses, and nearly a quarter reported they were saving between $500 and $999 by not commuting to school.

With Island gas prices hovering at around $4.50 a gallon, more students are opting for online classes or hybrid classes that meet several times in person but mostly online, said Mike Fassiotto, director of the graduate program at Chaminade.

Students ask, " 'Are you going to do it online? Because I just can't afford to drive anymore,' " he said.

Universities also reported more adults returning to school because online courses have made it easier to earn a higher degree.

Wilson, for example, recently added an hour of online learning to her daily routine — in between putting her 3-year-old and 7-year-old to sleep and going to bed herself.

"If they didn't have online (classes), I wouldn't have started school in my situation," she said.

The result? Though Web-based courses remain a relatively minor part of college coursework for most students, colleges and universities in Hawai'i have seen online enrollment take off.

At Chaminade, the number of graduate students taking online courses is rising. For example, 275, or about 75 percent, of class enrollments in the master of education program are in online courses. That number has doubled in the past four years.

For the undergraduate summer program, 935 enrollments were in online classes, 65 percent of all enrollments.

Hawai'i Pacific University has seen a 63 percent increase in registrations for online classes, from 11,937 registrations for 617 online sections in the 2005-06 school year to 19,502 registrations for 829 sections in the 2007-2008 school year.

The University of Hawai'i- Manoa's Outreach College, which coordinates the university's adult and community learning programs and oversees all its online summer courses, saw a 45 increase in enrollment this summer to 1,679.

"People are mentioning gas prices," said Harriet Abe of Outreach College. "People are mentioning that more students are working during the summer, so the online format gives them the flexibility of taking a class during the summer."

At UH-West O'ahu, 210 students, or 21 percent of the student body, are now enrolled in online courses and more than 90 percent of its faculty teach at least one online course, said Chancellor Gene Awakuni.

"Students are making economic decisions about their education," Awakuni said. "In other words, if they're out of a job, they'll take education out. If they have to pay high gas prices, they would opt for something that would be less of a financial burden on them and their families."

Students have also discovered benefits to online learning that extend beyond convenience.

Online courses attract a diversity of students, including individuals you might not ordinarily meet in the classroom, said Cholla Tierney-Stenrud, who is balancing a full-time job and online classes to get a master's degree in early childhood education.

"You have mothers, you have people who are coming back to school, so it's a good perspective, especially as far as education goes," said the 25-year-old Chaminade student.

By keeping track of when students log in and post comments, online classrooms force everyone to participate, said Joe Schmiedl, dean of Distance Education at HPU.

"Typically the level of interaction (in online courses) is higher because you can't sit in the back of the classroom and not raise your hand," Schmiedl said.

"If you don't take part in the conversation that's happening online, it's like you don't exist," Tierney-Stenrud said. "It gets you really interested and it really focuses you."

Although most universities said they plan to expand their online offerings, some educators still see challenges in online learning.

Kapi'olani Community College is experimenting with online language classes, said Dennis Kawaharada, the dean of Arts and Sciences.

"From a teaching point of view, I thought I could give a lot more focused feedback to specific e-mails I got, or on points on discussion boards," said Kawaharada, who has taught several online sections in creative writing.

But there are still some things virtual classrooms can't replace, he said.

"I found it a little limiting because I never got to really know any of the students personally."