Construction junior Ben Sargent attends class in his bed.
Instead of battling traffic and the clock, he prefers to sip coffee and watch SportsCenter while learning about music through an online course.
"I can wake up when I want to and then answer a few short questions about Elvis history," Sargent said.
Sargent is one of more than 11,000 students at ASU who take online classes, said Sam DiGangi, assistant vice provost for Information Technology.
The number of online-only classes has increased to approximately 400 this semester, up from 350 in fall 2005, he said.
The large number of students at ASU taking online classes has received national attention - a Jan. 13 Associated Press story about online courses featured the University.
DiGangi said online classes continue to gain in popularity because they are becoming more user-friendly.
Online courses are more convenient than traditional classes for some students, like Brittany Woods, a chemistry junior, who said she works two jobs and is a full-time student.
Because of her busy schedule, she said she likes to do her class work at her own pace and on her own time.
"Instead of having to be forced to get stuff done, life gets in the way sometimes and this lets you work the class around your schedule," she said.
As online classes have grown in popularity, ASU has been prompted to add more courses and expand the School of Extended Education by combining it with the University College, DiGangi said.
"We are constantly becoming better at designing and assessing online learning environments," he added.
DiGangi said the University hopes to increase enrollment in the University College to 100,000 in the next 10 years, which would produce more funding for online courses.
Although convenience is a reason many students decide to take courses online, it is not the only one, DiGangi said.
Online classes have also become popular because people have become accustomed to using computers and electronic devices to access information.
But some students said there are also disadvantages to taking online-only classes, such as the lack of face-to-face interaction with an instructor.
Marketing sophomore Devin Martin said he decided to take Introduction to Film online because he is taking 18 hours of classes this semester.
Introduction to Film is Martin's first online class, and he said he was a little apprehensive about being able to keep in touch with the professor.
"It seems like getting extra help from the teacher would be slightly more difficult seeing as how it's almost a phantom teacher," he said.
But Michael Shellans, a music professor who teaches three courses online, said he works hard to make sure that students can reach him and ask questions.
He said students are more willing to ask questions in an online class as opposed to a traditional class.
"My assistant and I answer dozens of e-mails daily from students," he said. "Questions range from computer inquiries to text or lecture-note clarifications to discussions of specific artists, bands or musical styles."
Although Shellans tries to help students with computer problems, he has to refer them to computer support.
"We hope students will realize that online instructors can only be responsible for course content, are usually not computer programmers and can't fix computer problems," Shellans said.
But even with computer glitches, Shellans said he believes online courses will continue to attract students.
"I hate to use the term 'a win-win' situation," he said. "But these online courses are the wave of the future."
Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.