Case Study: University of Wisconsin System achieves 97% college math placement with D2L Brightspace

A new College Readiness Math MOOC gets great marks at home—and around the world

The University of Wisconsin System, led by UW‑La Crosse, tackled a pervasive college math‑readiness problem: many incoming students required remediation, stretching resources across a 170,000‑student system and widening achievement gaps. They needed a scalable, quick solution that could reach diverse learners—and their parents, teachers and tutors—before students matriculated.

UW‑La Crosse converted its FastTrack readiness course into a Brightspace‑based MOOC through cross‑campus collaboration, offering synchronous instructor‑led and asynchronous self‑paced paths, extensive online tutoring, and tools to keep learners engaged. In four months the program produced strong gains: average scores rose from ~45% pre‑test to ~76% post‑test (≈31 points), 97% of pilot completers placed into college math, and the course has reached thousands of learners (ages 11–87) from 40+ countries.

University of Wisconsin System

Robert Hoar

Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs