Yeh, that might be because there have been record numbers of applications to university this year and some 100,000 students are not going to get a place at any

Yeh, that might be because there have been record numbers of applications to university this year and some 100,000 students are not going to get a place at any university so many probably rightly thought getting a distance degree while working might be a good alternative. But we would need much more than an increase in percentage to make any judgement. What are they studying, how many get to graduate by age group, how many enrol by each age group...