In order to make this work, a college must have a way to authenticate students.  It can one of many methods, including the local LDAP server used by many colleges for Web Advisor.

The only software required by the local machine is a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari that is capable of running “Remote Desktop Protocol”, or RDP.

You will also need to create “images” of the operating system that you want to offer to your remote students.  These images can be Windows XP, or you can use Unix remotely, as well.