A comparative study on success rates of community college students who place into remedial English and/or reading courses who concurrently enroll in online college-level course work

This paper compares successful completion rates of remedial community college students in online versus face-to-face coursework. Data show community colleges have large numbers of entering students with sub-standard English, reading and math skills. Due to the appeal of online learning, some remedial students concurrently enroll in online college-level courses while taking their face-to-face developmental courses. Online coursework requires not only self-discipline, but also a minimal level of reading and writing competency. Pass rate comparisons of remedial students enrolled in college-level online courses to remedial students enrolled in similar face-to-face courses suggests these students should not be advised to enroll in online courses before successful completion of their remedial coursework. While there are some differences in success rates of these students based on age and economic status, the majority of remedial students fare better in a classroom setting while enrolled in remedial coursework.