updated August 17, 2007

Members of the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts haven’t been the only persons hitting the books at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology this month to get a head start on preparations for this fall.

Working Together: Five freshmen gather around a laptop computer to help solve a problem in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Fast Track Calculus program. The group includes (bottom row, from left) Elisabeth Baca, Holly Poling and Clancy Soehren. In the top row are Jordan Eaker and Theresa Henke.

In two campus classrooms, 36 freshman students from 20 states and Saudia Arabia were enrolled in Rose-Hulman's unique Fast Track Calculus program, which concluded on Friday, Aug. 17. The group reviewed differential and integral calculus, covered every aspect of multivariable calculus, and became familiar with the computer implementation of mathematics.

Fast is the optimal word for the first members of the 2007-08 freshman class to appear on campus. This group completed an entire year of college-level calculus courses in just five weeks!

The payoff: Each student receives 15 hours of academic credit (nearly an academic quarter), and is able to enter sophomore-level mathematics courses this fall. Completing the program also gives students the option of picking up a double major course of study, earn a minor degree in an area of academic interest, take time away to enjoy co-op work opportunities and participate in research programs earlier in their undergraduate careers.

Instruction by mathematics professors Elton Graves and Kurt Bryan, combined with in-class problem-solving sessions, was conducted eight hours each weekday. Students completed an average of 20 to 30 homework problems each night and a group project each week.

Most students studied in groups until midnight –- or later -- each night to keep up with the academic workload.

Multi-Tasking Student: Eric Crockett listens to music while working on his homework problems in the final week of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Fast Track Calculus program.

“I've found that doing math for 15 hours a day is an enjoyable experience,” states Samantha Capone, an incoming freshman of Zachary, La., in an interview during the final week of the program. “Yes, we’ve been up all night agonizing over one or two problems. Some would say, ‘Give up and get some sleep!’ However, we’re perfectionists and want to get everything right.”

Staying up until 4 a.m. on occasion was Eric Crockett, an incoming freshman from Georgetown, Ind., who hopes to major in computer science, mathematics and, possibly, software engineering.

“It’s a lifestyle that develops the further you get into the (Fast Track Calculus) program. You can’t fall asleep until you have completed all of the homework problems,” he said.

One homework assignment asked the students to use parametric equations to redesign the fences of a baseball field so that any player has the same chance of hitting a home run to any part of the outfield. Another problem asked students to find a general formula for a rose having an even number of petals.

"We gave them very challenging assignments, but they were up to the task," says Graves, director of the Fast Track Calculus program. "If this group is representative of the math skills in this year's freshmen class, we're going to have a good group joining the student body this fall."

Freshmen are chosen for the Fast Track Calculus program based on their scores on college preparatory tests and completing one year of calculus and analytic geometry in high school. Students must pay a course fee and campus room-and-board expenses, and receive a grade on a pass-fail basis -- creating a cooperative academic environment.

Problem Solvers: Jared Mathis and Rachelle Cobb exchange ideas on how to answer a challenging mathematics problem during a recent classroom session from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Fast Track Calculus program.

“You’re here to learn the curriculum, not earn a grade,” said Rachelle Cobb, a freshman chemical engineering and mathematics major from Vancouver, Wash.

Away from academics, the summer program gave incoming students an early acclimatization to Rose-Hulman. The students participated in intramural and extra-curricular activities; dined and worked together just as they will during the school year; and learned the academic expectations of Rose-Hulman students. Rarely do Fast Track Calculus program graduates experience any adjustment problems during the school year, according to Graves.

"I have had (Fast Track Calculus) students that have correctly answered all homework problems in an assignment, but I counted off points for failing to show how they came up with the answer. I wrote, 'Show me your work,'" Graves stated. "That (lack of showing student's work) may have been good enough for high school, but it's not good enough for Rose-Hulman. There are higher expectations here. That's a valuable lesson that will lead them throughout their careers on campus."

The Fast Track Calculus program was started in 1982 by former mathematics professor Gary Sherman. Since its inception, the program has been rated by students as the most worthwhile courses taken during the freshman year, according to Graves. Pete Gustafson, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, states that he has "never heard a negative comment about Fast Track Calculus."

Despite the long hours of homework, this year’s Fast Track Calculus participants seemed to enjoy the educational opportunities. Students gathered around laptop computers to compare notes and examine mathematical formulas, shared jokes and classroom experiences, and prepared to join the rest of the freshmen for New Student Orientation, which starts on Aug. 24. Fall quarter classes begin on Aug. 30.

“It’s been nice to have only one class to worry about (in Fast Track Calculus). It makes time management very easy,” stated Jared Mathis, a freshman mathematics and physics major from Jacksonville, Fla.

Holly Poling, a biomedical engineering major from Hillard, Ohio, added: “Working together is the key to success (in the program). We’re all in this together. Within the first week, I had made friends that I’ll probably have for the rest of my college career.”

Rose-Hulman students have unusually strong mathematics credentials, Mathematics Department Chair Allen Broughton noted, with all freshmen starting at calculus or beyond. For the past few years about 40 to 45 percent of the college's freshmen started their fall quarter with advanced placement credit for at least one calculus course through AP Calculus exams, college transfer credit, or passing Fast Track Calculus.

However, only the Fast Track Calculus students are able to start fall classes with three courses of credit in calculus.

Fast Track Calculus participants are the first students to use the HP NW8440 Mobile Workstations, which will be utilized by all incoming freshmen. The laptop computer has an Intel Core Duo Processor (Version T7600, 2.33 GHZ), 2GB RAM, 1 DIMM, an 100 GB 7200 RPM hard drive; 15.4" wide screen display; Ethernet, wireless and Bluetooth network interfaces; three USB ports and one IEEE Firewire port; and a software suite which includes all titles needed throughout a student's academic career, including Matlab, Solid Edge, Working Model and LabView.

During Fast Track Calculus, the Maple software package is being used as an integral part of the course. This symbolic algebra system allows students to obtain exact solutions to problems in differentiation and integration, to solve algebraic and differential equations, to graph families of functions and to expand functions in series -- all in the traditional form, but without the usually excessive paper-and-pencil manipulations.

Students participating in this year’s program were: