Internet-based alternatives for equitable preparation, access, and success in gateway courses

Remedial college courses generate tuition and fit neatly into existing course structures. But they often fail to deliver access and success in foundational “gateway” undergraduate courses. Because under-represented minorities are over-represented in these courses, remedial courses obstruct equitable access and success. Schools are increasingly turning instead to supplemental instruction and Internet-based intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs). But these alternatives don't generate tuition, are difficult to evaluate, and can require substantial infrastructure. This study compared 2561 students who qualified for Principles of Chemistry and Biochemistry by passing Developmental Chemistry with 607 students who qualified by completing a commercial Internet-based ITS. Propensity-score techniques were used to control for biased selection and assignment. We found that spending approximately 30 h on a $30 ITS was equally as effective as spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of tuition on a three or five credit remedial course in terms of final grades in Principles for the entire population as well as for under-represented minorities. This finding has implications for advising students and for designing and evaluating programs for underprepared students and under-represented minorities. •Developmental courses are popular and generate tuition but are largely ineffective.•Developmental courses obstruct equitable access and success for minority students.•Supplemental instruction and intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) are an alternative.•Lacking random assignment, propensity matching is crucial for evaluation.•A commercial chemistry ITS was as equally as effective as developmental courses.