MSLC Use by RU Students:
Student visits per year:
- Busch Center averages ~84,000 per academic year
- Douglass Center averages ~5,000 per academic year
MSLC Computer Lab:
The Busch computer lab use is on a steadily increasing trend (40% increase in the last seven years at a rate of ~1000 new users per year). 23,000 students used the Busch computer lab during the 2011/12 academic year.
Science Outreach:
- Outreach numbers hold steady and are limited by staff availability.
- Rutgers Science Explorer Bus: ~5,000 students per academic year
(advertised and scheduled by the Departmental Administrator, all other aspects are directed by the Science Education Outreach Program Coordinator) - On-site school tours: ~1,000 students per academic year
(not advertised, but are organized based on inquiries from NJ schools. Scheduled by the Departmental Administrator and led by the Associate Director for Physics, the Science Education Outreach Coordinator, and the Associate Director for Biology, when available.)
Course Development
Several million dollars in NSF and other grant funding has been secured with MSLC Directors and Associate Directors serving as PIs for transforming courses, developing curriculum, and improving retention. Some grant-funded course transformations (affecting over 1000 students per year) that have been undertaken in collaboration with departmental faculty include:
Minilabs in Analytical Physics
The development of the STEM Gateway Programs:
- The creation of Concepts of Biology
- The creation of Extended Analytical Physics
- The creation of Extended General Physics
- The creation of Physics for the Sciences on the Cook/Douglass campus