A recent report by Primary Research Group shows that traditional colleges are making a substantial amount of money by offering online courses - and that many colleges view online programs as a way to generate extra income.

That's good news because it means more quality traditional schools will be entering the online learning market. It's bad news because it may indicate colleges are putting less money into their online courses (by spending less, they'll generate more). It's important that colleges give online offerings the same importance as traditional courses.

Here are a few of the distance learning report's more interesting findings:

* Most colleges in the sample-more than two-thirds-view their distance learning program as a financial resource that is expected to produce a surplus for the college, while for 28.57% of the colleges in the sample it was merely expected to pay for itself, and one college viewed it as an educational luxury, subsidized by the college.

* More than 57% of the students in the sample live within 75 miles of the college that offers them the distance learning courses.

* Less than 10% of the programs in the sample require all students to pay full "sticker price" tuition without tuition reductions, rebates or grants.

* Nearly 23% of the programs in the sample provide tailor-made distance leaning courses to some arm of the U.S. armed forces.

* Only 6.9% of the programs in the sample plan to change their course management/authoring/maintenance program within the next two years.

* Private colleges use adjunct faculty for 64.5% of the courses that they offer, with a low of 20% to a high of 100%.

* Nearly 70% of the colleges in the sample offer payments routinely to instructors who develop distance leaning courses, and more than 17% occasionally offer such payments.