The 1950s were an era of change for Northeasertern. Three major events would characterize the decade: the first being the end of World War II, the second being Northeastern’s separation from the YMCA, and the third being Northeastern’s expansion of course offerings beyond engineering. After breaking off from the YMCA in 1948, Northeastern focused its efforts in establishing itself as an independent, technical school serving commuters and working adults in the area.

The end of the Second World War also brought a drastic increase in enrollment, and women were also enrolled for the first time following the war. Mindful of the steadily mounting costs of education, Northeastern sought to assist undergraduates of limited means to complete their education. On July 19th, 1949, revisions to the co-operative plan in the day colleges of Northeastern were proposed in order to adapt the program to fit the zeitgeist of the post-war era and its economic boom. “[The] Day College Council gave a great deal of time and thought to the development of a post-war plan of operation... various suggestions made by members of our own faculty were fully discussed.” A four-year adaptation of what was usually a five-year program for full time students was made for veterans who wanted to complete their college work as quickly as possible. The post-war plan proved successful, but came at a high administrative cost due to the increasing number of students, and there being six separate rounds of registration annually. Two students were allocated per job to give continuous coverage of the same position, which allowed them to sandwich periods of work between periods of school. Before the post-war co-op plan, students rotated in the following pattern: Student A would have 10 weeks of work, 10 weeks of school, followed by 16 weeks of work, and 16 weeks of school. Whenever student A was at school, student B would be working, and vice versa. The post-war structure consisted of 18 weeks of school, 16 weeks of work, 8 weeks of study, and 10 weeks of work for Student A, and the inverse for Student B. “The proposed plan contemplates an eight week term as an integral part of the freshman year, making a total of thirty-eight weeks [of study] at a tuition of $440 + $110 = $550.” Between November 1950 and January 1951, the average weekly pay was $39.58, with a high of $93.50 and a low of $20.00 per week.

By the start of the decade, enrollment in both liberal arts and business administration had increased tenfold, as did the number of students in the corresponding co-ops. The College of Education was also added in 1953. At the time, around 4000 students were placed in co-op positions at 500 operating firms, mainly in engineering co-ops working in utilities, power equipment, and engineering firms. The efforts of Carl Ell, Northeastern’s president during the time, were chiefly responsible for leading the expansion.