US colleges presently face an academic plight; thousands of high school graduates are performing below the expected ability for college‐level mathematics. This paper describes an innovative approach intended to improve the mathematics performance of first‐year college students, at a large US university. The innovation involved the integration of faculty‐led instruction with technology‐enhanced learning (TEL). In this case, TEL refers to a sophisticated software program that delivers mathematics education using an adaptive, self‐paced, individualized, mastery‐based approach. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the extent to which TEL met the educational requirements of college students in need of remediation and to explore the effects of TEL on students' beliefs about their academic ability and academic behaviors (academic competence). The sample of 2880 included all the students enrolled in a single semester of remedial mathematics. Results suggested successful remediation, as indicated by the end‐of‐semester course completion rate, with 75% of students eligible to enroll in a first‐year sequence mathematics course and an additional 18% on track for eligibility by the following semester. TEL also appeared to have a positive, statistically significant effect on students' learning and academic competence. For these findings, we discuss study limitations and implications for future research.