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Gateway tests provide a means of assuring that students in reformed precalculus and calculus courses acquire the algebraic and computational skills needed in courses following these, while allowing the focus of the course to be on the conceptual understanding intrinsic to the reformed courses. However, logistical difficulties plague the pencil-and-paper administration of these tests, significantly decreasing their usefulness. To address these difficulties we have implemented an on-line version of the gateway tests which allows students to practice the skills on their own and take the test for a grade in a proctored environment. We report on the details of our implementation and assessment of our system, including our administration procedures and lab use. Our assessment included evaluation of students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the program and their actual skill acquisition, and showed that the students' skills improved in the course of the on-line gateway testing.

We describe the impact of the Douglass Houghton Scholars Program (DHSP), which seeks to increase the enrollment of minorities in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degrees at the University of Michigan. In the first three years of the program, the number of minority students taking two mathematics courses, earning high grades, and choosing a major in the STEM disciplines increased dramatically. We illustrate that the sustainability of programs such as this one depends on adequate instructional, administrative, and financial support; the articulation of these areas is key for maintaining a high-quality program that will address equity and diversity agendas in higher education institutions.

Through the grant for which this report is written, five workshops in quantum computing were partially funded, as well as senior researchers in mathematics, computer science, physics, and related fields, to participate in the workshops and other activities held concurrently at MSRI. This final report describes the workshops and their schedules, and details the participants funded through this grant.