Digital Inequality and Two Levels of the Digital Divide in Online Learning: A Mixed Methods Study of Underserved College Students

The rapid surge in the use of academic technologies and online learning platforms prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the digital disparities between underserved college students and their more privileged counterparts. While previous research underscores the significance of technology access and digital proficiency in online education, our understanding of the digital divide in online learning remains limited. To address this deficiency, this study employs a mixed-methods approach—combining qualitative and quantitative analyses—to investigate the manifestation of the digital divide and digital barriers among underserved college students during the pandemic. We collected data from 220 students from a minority-serving four-year public university in the United States. Our qualitative analysis reveals distinct first- and second-level digital divides in online learning. However, the quantitative analysis fails to identify significant associations between digital barriers and demographic variables such as first-generation status and household income. Through supplementary thematic analysis, two crucial themes emerge illustrating the technological disadvantages encountered by underserved college students. This study contributes to both information systems research and educational practices by offering a nuanced exploration of the digital divide and digital inequality in online education and by providing actionable recommendations aimed at fostering digital equity among underserved college students. © Copyright ©2024 by the Information Systems & Computing Academic Professionals, Inc. (ISCAP). Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this journal for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial use. All copies must bear this notice and full citation. Permission from the Editor is required to post to servers, redistribute to lists, or utilize in a for-profit or commercial use. Permission requests should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Information Systems Education, editor@jise.org.