| Sumario: | Less than optimal student success in gateway courses figures prominently in college noncompletion. Past findings suggest that U‐Pace instruction holds promise for increasing student success. However, all published studies of U‐Pace instruction were conducted in the gateway course context of introductory psychology. The objective of this research was to rigorously evaluate the efficacy of U‐Pace instruction in introductory sociology and introductory political science for students at‐risk for college noncompletion and students not at‐risk. The findings from both randomized controlled trials indicate that regardless of risk status, U‐Pace students outperformed their conventionally taught face‐to‐face counterparts earning a greater percentage of final grades of A or B and higher scores on a proctored cumulative assessment of learning, independent of final grades. The results not only confirm previous findings of greater academic success and greater learning associated with U‐Pace instruction but also clearly demonstrate that U‐Pace instruction produces greater learning and greater academic success. Further, the findings of this research reveal that these student outcomes generalize across courses in two disciplines for both students at‐risk for college noncompletion and students not at‐risk, providing strong support for the efficacy of U‐Pace instruction. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: U‐Pace online instruction combines mastery learning and proactive instructor support.Greater academic success and greater learning have been associated with U‐Pace instruction.Previous studies evaluated U‐Pace instruction in the context of introductory psychology. What this paper adds: This is the first study to examine U‐Pace instruction in other gateway course contexts.U‐Pace produced greater academic success and learning than conventional, Face‐to‐Face instruction in sociology and political science. Implications for practice and/or policy: The findings strongly support the efficacy of U‐Pace regardless of undergraduate risk status.Could strategic implementation of U‐Pace in core courses facilitate degree completion?
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