Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05
Outputs
1. In the first year of the Missouri Pathways Partnership grant program, we have accomplished the following goals as projected in our original timeline: Oct.-Dec. 2004 o Hired graduate assistant o Hired site coordinators at the two participating community colleges o Installed an ITV room at SMSU-Springfield and renovated ITV rooms at the community campuses o Prepared a schedule of ITV courses o Conducted initial training of faculty teaching ITV courses to use the equipment o Developed recruitment materials and marketing strategies, including a Pathways brochure and a Pathways website Jan.-May 2005 o Surveyed potential and current Pathways students o Refined recruiting materials and marketing strategies June-July 2005 o Offered (more than) 2 ITV courses o Surveyed students and improving survey instruments o Beginning to develop student tracking system o Recruited instructors to offer new online courses to Pathways participants 2. The following goals were not met
according to the timeline, for the stated reasons: Oct.-Dec. 2004 o Hired external evaluator An external evaluator submitted a letter indicating his support for the program and willingness to participate. We did not officially use his services in the fall semester because we did not have any students in the Pathways program. Jan.-May 2005 o Offer 3 ITV courses An ITV room was installed at the SMSU-Springfield campus in the fall semester, but it was not completed in time to schedule spring courses in it. Other ITV rooms on campus were not available at times needed. Thus, we were only able to offer one course via ITV in the spring 2005 instead of three courses we planned to offer. However, we were able to schedule six summer classes rather than the two we originally planned, so total number of classes offered so far meets our goals. o Set up a student tracking system We only had one student enrolled in the Pathways BAS degree program in the spring. Student enrollment has been slow, in
spite of recruiting and marketing efforts, probably due to our delay in offering ITV courses. After offering the six summer courses, we now have 2 students enrolled in the program and 3 more students highly interested. Several other students have contacted Pathways coordinators to ask for information about the program. Pathways personnel are now working to develop the tracking system. 3. Budget changes Due to the delays in implementing the Pathways program, we have spent less than we expected by this time. Travel expenses are lower than expected. We have found that we can conduct many of our meetings via ITV. We have requested a budget revision to allow us to hire an additional coordinator at one of the partner community colleges. We have also asked to provide some overtime pay for a department secretary who has spent a great deal of after-hours time helping us with grant-related paperwork required by the university. We are asking to use some of the money budgeted for travel for these
personnel additions.
PRODUCTS: We have designed and distributed a Missouri Pathways Partnership brochure to market the program. The first brochure was published in fall 2004 and it was revised in spring 2005. The brochure lists courses available through the Pathways program to help rural students earn a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Agriculture at their local community college campuses. The brochure includes descriptions of the three schools in the Pathways program, as well as contact information for interested students. Copies of the brochure have been given to Pathways site coordinators who are distributing them to students at their schools. Brochures are also distributed during any of our Agriculture Department recruitment events. A Pathways website has been created by the project coordinator. Its URL is http://ag.smsu.edu/pathways/. Potential and current students have many questions about such issues such as how to apply for admission to the BAS program, which of their courses transfer,
applying for financial aid, registration deadlines, and registering for classes. The website answers these kinds of questions and is a valuable tool for students as well as for the site coordinators and their recruitment activities. Web pages also describe faculty involved in the program, BAS degree requirements, Pathways courses scheduled for the next two years along with syllabi for currently-scheduled courses. The grant has provided funding for a new ITV room in Karls Hall, home of the SMSU-Springfield Agriculture Department. The ITV room seats 40 students. Due to teaching loads, faculty members are unable to teach an additional class section of their courses to provide classes via ITV. Many of our classes have mid-size enrollments of around 40 students, so this new ITV room can accommodate the traditional students enrolled in a class as well as make the class available simultaneously to students at the other campuses. The grant pays a stipend for an agriculture graduate student at
SMSU-Springfield. This student has provided valuable assistance in developing surveys and in designing recruitment materials. In turn, the assistantship gives her great experience in developing research skills in education and the social sciences. Travel stipends have allowed students from all three schools to attend summer laboratory classes. This provides hands-on experiences and face-to-face encounters with agriculture professionals in various career areas. This also lets students from the community colleges interact with students from our 4-year university, which we feel is a valuable recruitment tool for our BAS degree program.
OUTCOMES: The ITV course delivery system makes upper division agriculture courses available to rural students who are unable to commute to a four-year university. Online courses being added to the Pathways program further enhance this ability. Students participating in the summer laboratory classes are learning about agriculture careers from professionals who work in the various career areas. As of late July 2005, Pathways has sponsored/conducted one ITV course and five laboratory/field classes for undergraduates. Two additional summer courses are scheduled in August. Additional courses for high school agriculture teachers have been held. Twenty-eight students have completed Pathways courses as of late July. Nine more students are enrolled in Pathways fall intersession classes (scheduled for August). Seven agriculture teachers have taken Pathways classes, while an additional 20 teachers took part in alternatively-scheduled Pathways courses.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Brochures highlighting the Pathways Partnership are distributed by advisors to students at the community colleges and are distributed to the public at university recruitment events. The Pathways coordinator and her graduate student have set up booths in hallways and meeting rooms at the community colleges where they described the program to students attending classes. A public service radio message describing the Pathways program and providing contact information has been developed for distribution to area radio stations. News stories featuring interviews of the Pathways directors and the coordinator have appeared in two news magazines and one radio show. Pathways personnel will be involved in a distance education conference so they can share their experience in developing Higher Education Clusters with educators from Missouri and other states in the region. The Pathways program has been promoted to teachers from several regional colleges at a 2005 meeting
of MACTA (Missouri Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) and at the 2005 District FFA Contest.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: We are in the process of developing internships offered through the Pathways program. We are also developing special topics classes to provide information that directly relates to specific goals and career plans of the students. We are working to add lower division courses to our ITV program. SMSU-West Plains has only one agricultural instructor. The faculty at Crowder College wish to offer the lower division courses to students at West Plains, and to interested SMSU-Springfield students. It would add flexibility to class scheduling for SMSU-Springfield students because lower division courses would be offered twice in a semester instead of just once. Other community colleges in the region have expressed interest in joining the Pathways program, so in the future we may be able to assist students at those campuses in taking classes toward a bachelor of applied sciences degree in agriculture.
Impacts
The Pathways course delivery system gives rural students access to upper division agriculture courses so they can earn a bachelor of applied sciences degree. A four-year degree is expected to enhance career and income opportunities for these students. Agriculture businesses will have access to workers with a greater level of education and skills.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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