Predictors of Success in Large Enrollment Introductory Courses: An Examination of the Impact of Learning Communities and Virtual Learning Resources on Student Success in an Introductory Level Sociology Course

ued to cut funding for post-secondary education, while changes in the college population due to growing numbers of non-traditional students have resulted in increased demands on higher education. Specifically, older students who have competing role obligations have motivated professors and instructors to restructure their classroom practices to allow more flexibility. This trend, combined with the growth in the college student population, increased course enrollment, and increasing budget constraints, finds educators searching for new and effective teaching modalities that are timeand cost-efficient. At the same time, it is ill-advised to forge headlong into new teaching pedagogies without evidence to support their effectiveness. The current research project addresses the effectiveness of using some of these new advancements in a large-enrollment introductory course to examine their impact on outcome.