The authors first explore the changing European society and its impact on higher education. This forms a background to the main focus of the paper--the effectiveness of remedial or developmental education. The paper then provides an overview of the core elements of successful remedial or developmental courses and summarizes developments in online education and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). The added value of IT in remedial education is subsequently examined in depth through a review of the literature and research. Finally, addressing the role of information and communications technology in online remedial education, the authors clarify the connections between the key components of remedial and online education.