Utility Value Intervention Study in Postsecondary Gateway Science Courses, United States, 2017-2021

The Utility Value Intervention (UVI) Study in Postsecondary Gateway Science Courses, funded by Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as a large-scale intervention study, aimed to assess the effectiveness of the utility value intervention in enhancing students' academic progress (reflected in course grades) and persistence (continued enrollment in science courses and sustained interest). Specifically, the study sought to determine whether the intervention had the greatest positive impact on first-generation college students (FG), underrepresented minority students (URM), first-generation underrepresented minority students (FG-URM), and students with multiple high-risk identities.

This research was conducted within physics and chemistry courses and implemented as a multi-cohort double-blind randomized controlled trial, involving a total of 7,863 undergraduate participants across six different student cohorts and two science departments. Upon entry into the study, all students were randomly assigned to either the UVI treatment group or a control group. Randomization was stratified based on underrepresented ethnic minority status, first-generation college status, and gender to ensure balanced representation of these subgroups in both treatment and control conditions.

Students remained in their assigned condition throughout the study, even if they enrolled in both physics and chemistry courses. The number of cohorts was determined to ensure an adequate sample size for assessing the intervention's effectiveness across various student subgroups with diverse socio-demographic characteristics. Given the study's implementation within the quarter system, Cohorts 1, 3, and 5 commenced in the fall quarter, while Cohorts 0, 2, and 4 began in the winter quarter.