Performing Department
College of Agriculture, Community and the Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Kentucky State University (KSU) has a strong commitment to teaching in the food and agricultural sciences and related fields tomeet the need for a highly skilled food and agricultural systems workforce. The 1890 Scholarships Program will allow KSU tooffer financial support to students pursuing degrees in agriculture-related fields, increasing student enrollment and retention inthese areas. KSU has a range of agriculture courses (including practicum experience) to train students in plant and animalscience, human health and environment, global agricultural perspectives, and practicums, as well as the areas of food and fiber,agricultural, renewable natural resources, forestry, and family and consumer sciences. The objectives are to: 1. increase thenumber of students who attain baccalaureate degrees in the food and agricultural sciences and related fields at KSU by offeringscholarship opportunities; and 2. support these scholars in their intention to pursue a career in the food and agricultural sciencesand related fields to meet the need for a highly skilled food and agricultural systems workforce. A detailed recruitment andselection plan has been developed to offer competitive scholarships, as well as a mentoring program with faculty and studentprofessional groups in agriculture. Students will participate in a range of practicums, internships, and professional developmentopportunities. A reporting and evaluation plan, with the help of an advisory committee, will assist the selection committee inawarding and tracking of students, as well as provide longitudinal tracking at a career level to ensure that students are being trained, retained, graduating, and entering the agricultural careers.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The objectives of the proposal are:To increase the number of students who attain baccalaureate degrees in the food and agricultural sciences and related fields at KSU by offering scholarship opportunitiesTo support these scholars in their intention to pursue a career in the food and agricultural sciences and related fields to meet the need for a highly skilled food and agricultural systems workforce.
Project Methods
The 1890 Scholarships Program will allow KSU to offer financial support to students pursuing degrees in agriculture-relatedfields and reduce the economic burden associated with a post-secondary education. This will enable students to focus on theireducation and gain competence in the food and agricultural sciences and related fields, which will lead to the development of ahighly skilled workforce and facilitate rural prosperity and economic development. KSU offers a range of agriculture courses andpracticum experiences in plant science, animal science, human health and environment, global perspectives in agriculture, andpracticums in the areas of food and agricultural sciences as well as the areas of food and fiber, renewable natural resources,forestry, and physical and social sciences.For the first scholarships program cohort, we will: 1) provide full in-state or out-of-state tuition (up to 18 semester credit hours)and mandatory fees, standard housing, meals, and books (full ride or up to approximately $25,000 per year) for eightconsecutive semesters (4 years) for approximately 12 first-time or transfer students or the top 25% of students who meet thefirst-tier scoring requirements on criteria for the scholarships program; 2) support in-state or out-of-state tuition, fees, andbooks (for up to 18 credit hours or $7,500 per year) for eight consecutive semesters for up to 27 students first-time or transferstudents who meet the second-tier criteria; and 3) partially support up to 15 students for their tuition (up to 18 semester credithours) and books (approximately $3,000 per year) for eight consecutive semesters for first-time or transfer students who meetthe third-tier scoring on criteria. Final scholarship amounts and the number of students at each level may vary depending ontuition changes, number of students applying, and number of students retained each year.The KSU 1890 Scholarships Committee will award scholarships competitively based on a review of the documents below andthe following scoring system (a total of 100 points possible):1. GPA on a 4.0-point scale:1. 2.8 to 3.0 (5 pts);2. >3.0 to 3.5 (10 pts);3. >3.5 to 4.0 (15 pts);2. Strength of evidence of leadership and community participation in the resume (up to 10 pts);3. Strength of essay on intent to pursue a career in the food and agricultural sciences (up to 60 pts based on demonstratedinterest in food and agricultural sciences, major declared, grammar, spelling, and career plan);4. For a highschool applicant, strength of Letter of recommendation from High School Counselor (up to 5 pts) and strengthof letter of recommendation from High School Teacher (up to 10 pts).5. For a transfer student, two letters of recommendation (one from either the Department Head or Dean, and the other from afaculty member) will be evaluated (15 pts)The Selection Committee will assign each recipient student to a faculty mentor in their agricultural interest area and the studentwill be required to visit with this professor at the beginning of each semester to discuss the student's progress in the program.The student will be required to submit a progress form and continued agricultural career commitment form to the SelectionCommittee as proof of the meeting. The committee will review all scolarship recipients at the end of each semester to monitorprogress in completing their education, maintaining a 2.8 GPA, and participation in student groups for leadership development.Students will be offered a number of opportunities to attend and present at professional meeting and workshops each year topromote leadership development in agriculture. Additionally, the students will also be asked to participate in agriculture-orientedleadership activities in student organizations, such as the KSU Green Society, Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources andRelated Sciences (MANRRS), Ag Ambassadors program, or Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society.For graduates of the program, a private and confidential electronic (Qualtrics) survey will be conducted. We will send one emailinvitation to each student's mailing and alternative institutional email address; nine email reminders will be sent over the courseof the online survey period. We will also contact these graduates on social media to ask them to participate. The surveyquestions will include demographic information (such as gender, ethnicity, major, age, etc.), total undergraduate debt, currentjob or position and to indicate how this position relates to the area of agriculture, current living location, whether the graduatehas any plans to attend graduate school, recommendations for the school for the degree program, if the graduate has a currentLinkedIn account, and if the scholarships program was helpful. We will also solicit other comments. This process will be repeated each year.