The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

student support services, including admissions and financial aid staff, but also from the movement of undergraduate programs in geology, mathematics, physics, and environmental science to the college that same year. These programs shared core academic requirements in science and mathematics with the Lowell Institute School, allowing for the elimination of duplicated classes and strengthened enrollment with a more academically diverse group of students, allowing synergies to take place between Lowell Institute School students and those students who were majoring in math and physics.2 With the movement of these programs and with the college’s expertise in online technology, the Lowell Institute School was able to upgrade its mathematics and physics curriculum with new web-based resources and tools. During the 2008–09 academic year the Lowell Institute School piloted a new format to teach mathematics, with fully integrated state-of-the-art support materials. Online classes were devoted to problem sets, practice opportunities, and quizzes on material. The new format allowed students to move through online tutorials asynchronously, affording them the ability to move at their own pace and to revisit materials as many times as they wished. The new format also allowed instructors to gauge across several classes which parts of their courses were presenting the greatest difficulties and what material had already been mastered. Importantly, the integration of online resources helped improve the quality of life for students who were challenged by long commutes to on-ground classes and helped to foster skills in communicating and collaborating in a virtual environment.

In the summer of 2009 the curriculum for Physics I, II, and III was also upgraded with online content that demonstrated physics theory.

Students in laboratory sections utilized online submission mechanisms to complete assignments and were able to receive expedited feedback from instructors. The school also benefited that year from a donation from the Anritsu Company of a telecommunications signal analysis tool valued at $142,000, which was used by the Lowell Institute School to enhance instruction and lab activities.3 106 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University