Progress 09/15/05 to 09/14/08
Outputs
1. Enhance Agriculture Curriculum: A biotechnology course was developed and offered in the 2007 and 2008 fall semesters. A new course in Environmental Science was created and has been offered every semester since its inception. Curriculum enhancements include bringing guest speakers to campus, visiting industry sites, incorporating more hands-on activities in current classes, and conducting a livestock sale at the college farm. 2. Develop distance learning courses: Two existing courses (Agriculture Technology Management and Agriculture Orientation) were redeveloped and offered online through the college Blackboard learning platform. Both of these have been offered online at least twice since this grant began and will continue to be offered on a yearly basis. The environmental science course was also modified for use as an on-line course and has been offered every semester. This makes a total of six online Agriculture courses available at ACCC. Dozens of secondary students have taken advantage of these courses while still in high school, giving them a unique 2+2 course articulation opportunity. 3. Augment Career Awareness for Secondary Students. This was accomplished by two means. One was having one or more of the ACCC agriculture instructors present information on careers at local high schools and statewide events such as the Kansas FFA convention. Second was to host an Agriculture Career Event Day on the first Thursday of April. This occurred on 04/06/06, 04/05/07, and 04/03/08. Approximately 600 students from 30 high schools attend each of these event days. Participants learned about various industries and job skills in eight different career event areas. Students used skills in problem solving, analysis, evaluation, comparison, and communications in a competitive manner in career events such as: food science, meat technology, agribusiness management, entomology, dairy products, public speaking, livestock evaluation, and nursery and landscape management. 4. Develop Greater Awareness of Careers Among Secondary Female Students. This was accomplished by hosting a "Women in Agriculture" Conference for high school female students. The conference was structured to begin and end with a special presentation or exercise conducted by a special guest. In between, participants selected four rotating sessions to attend from among eight presentations being made. The first conference was held on Tuesday March 20, 2006. The attendance was limited to 45 students due to spring break at many schools and an ice storm. The second conference was changed to the fall and held on November 20. The conference structure was the same with some returning and some new presenters. Approximately 100 students participated in the conference. In 2007 the participation had increased to 145 students and the number of presenters had increased to 20. Students could now could to attend five workshops during the day. This event was held again this past November with 190 girls attending. PRODUCTS: Product 1 - An enhanced agriculture curriculum at Allen County Community College that provides six courses available online and more hands-on, career related courses. Product 2 - The Ag Career Event Day described briefly in the progress report, was a major accomplishment as it impacted hundreds of students. This activity was very well received by high school students and their instructors. Our college has hosted this event every spring and will continue to do so. Product 3 - Allen County is the only institution among community and technical colleges offering more than a single online course in agriculture. We now have a total of six available. These courses have been taken by over 200 students during the life of this grant. Product 4 - The Women in Agriculture conferences have been well received by the students attending and their instructors. Just as important, the women professionals who have served as presenters have been highly encouraging to continue this event. It has grown from 45 to nearly 200 student participants. OUTCOMES: 1. A course in Biotechnology was developed and scheduled to be offered for the first time in the fall 2007 semester. 2. Two new courses were developed for on-line students and the three existing online courses were upgraded. Two additional on-campus courses have a web component making them an on-line hybrid and providing opportunities for students outside the normal class time. There has been an increase in the number of new and returning students to the online course offerings. This indicates a wider acceptance and/or preference for completing some of a student's curriculum via distance education. A total of 97 students took online courses in the spring, summer, and fall semesters combined in 2008 compared to a total of 64 students for the same time frame in 2005. Over the three year term of this grant, the online ag courses had a total enrollment of 236 students. The possibility of a student earning an Associate's degree online at ACCC is nearly completed. 3. A large number of students will be exposed to career related skills and challenges required in the high demand areas of Agriculture. Approximately 600 students from 30 different secondary schools participated in the Agriculture career event day each year in 2006, 2007, and 2008. ACCC Agriculture instructors made presentations to approximately 200 students at ten different schools each year. 4. The Women in Agriculture conference was held four times with the number of participants rising from 45 to 90, to 145 to 190. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: This author disseminated information and products of this project at the following: 1. The Southeast district KAAE teachers spring in-service workshop; 2. a state-wide list serve of the KAAE agriculture education instructors; 3. The Kansas State FFA Convention in Manhattan, May 30, 2007, and 4. The Annual meeting of Kansas Association of Colleges and Teachers in Agriculture, held at Hays, Kansas Jan 19-20, 2007. 5. The Spec Grant Workshop/NAAE Convention in Las Vegas in December 2007. 6. The Southeast district FFA Agriculture Education summer in-service at Wichita in August, 2008. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The Agriculture Program at Allen County Community College fully intends to continue all of the activities initiated under the 2005 grant program. At least two online courses have been and will continue to be offered every fall, spring, and summer semester. Additional online courses and course segments are being considered. The ability to communicate the need/benefit of Agriculture majors to secondary students via at-school presentations and the annual Agriculture Career Event Day have been very successive and will definitely continue. The unique Women in Agriculture conference has been well received and will continue in the fall semester each year.
Impacts
Impacts that have been identified and that are expected to occur include: 1. a 10-15 percent increase in the number of students completing on-line Agriculture courses before leaving high school. 2. a 15-25 percent increase in the number of students that will complete a two-year degree in a more non-traditional fashion (i.e. two years on campus) 3. a 5-10 percent increase in the number of students pursuing an agriculture degree at Allen County. 4. a 20 percent increase over the next two years in the number of students participating in the Ag Career Event Day, and a 10-20% increase in the number of female students pursuing Agriculture careers.
Publications
- Women in Agriculture Conference flyer March 20, 2006
- Women in Agriculture Conference flyer November 20, 2006
- Women in Agriculture Conference flyer November 21, 2007 Women in Agriculture Conference flyer November 25, 2008 (created and mailed in September 2008)
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Progress 09/15/06 to 09/14/07
Outputs
1. Enhance Agriculture Curriculum program: The curriculum has been enhanced by offering a new course in Environmental Science in addition to incorporating new learning activities into current classes. The Environmental Science course covers sustainability in resource use such as soil and water; diversity in plant and animal populations, best management practices for non-point source pollution, and alternative forms of renewable energy such as biofuels, wind, hydro, and solar power. A biotechnology course was developed offered this fall (2007)semester. Some of the curriculum enhancements include bringing guest speakers to campus, visiting industry sites, incorporating more hands-on activities in current classes, and conducting a livestock sale at the college farm. 2. Develop new distance learning courses: Two existing courses in the curriculum were redeveloped and offered online through the college Blackboard learning platform. Agriculture Technology Management deals
with problem solving principles in the area of agriculture engineering. Agriculture Orientation deals with career and educational opportunities in Agriculture. Both of these have been offered online at least twice since this grant began and will continue to be offered on a yearly basis. This makes a total of five online agriculture courses available at ACCC. Dozens of secondary students have taken advantage of these courses while still in high school, giving them a unique 2+2 course articulation opportunity. 3. Augment Career Awareness for Secondary Students. This was accomplished by two means. One was having one or more of the ACCC agriculture instructors present information on careers at local high schools and statewide events such as the Kansas FFA convention. Second was to host an Agriculture Career Event Day on April 6th of 2006 and April 5th of 2007. Approximately 600 students from 30 high schools attend each of the two event days. Participants learned about various industries
and job skills in eight different career event areas. Students used skills in problem solving, analysis, evaluation, comparison, and communications in a competitive manner in career events such as: food science, meat technology, agribusiness management, entomology, dairy products, public speaking, livestock evaluation, and nursery and landscape management. 4. Develop Greater Awareness of Careers Among Secondary Female Students. This was accomplished by hosting a "Women in Agriculture" Conference for high school female students. The conference was structured to begin and end with a special presentation or exercise conducted by a special guest. In between, participants selected four rotating sessions to attend from among eight presentations being made. The first conference was held on Tuesday March 20, 2006. The attendance was limited to 45 students due to spring break at many schools and an ice storm. The second conference was changed to the fall and held on November 20, 2006 The
conference structure was the same with some returning and some new presenters. Approximately 100 students participated in the conference. This conference was recently held again on Nov 21, 2007 with 145 girls attending
PRODUCTS: Product 1 - With the additions of the courses listed in the progress report, the first product would be an enhanced agriculture curriculum at Allen County Community College that provides a more complete list of hands-on, career related courses. Product 2 - The Ag Career Event Day described briefly in the progress report, was a major accomplishment as it impacted 600 hundred students each year. This activity was very well received by high school students and their instructors. Our college has been asked to host the event again next year and we plan to do so. Product 3 - Distance learning is an area which is becoming more widely accepted and expected, yet few colleges are offering agriculture courses via this medium. Allen County is the only institution among community and technical colleges offering more than a single online course in agriculture. We now have a total of five in place with more in the planning and development stages. These courses have been taken by over 250
students in the past four years. Product 4 - The Women in Agriculture conferences have been well received by the students attending and their instructors. The conference has grown from 45 to 145 attendees. Just as important, the women professionals who have served as presenters have been highly encouraging to continue this event.
OUTCOMES: 1. A course in Biotechnology was developed and scheduled to be offered for the first time in the fall 2007 semester. 2. Two new courses were developed for on-line students and the three existing online courses were upgraded. Two additional on-campus courses have a web component making them an on-line hybrid and providing opportunities for students outside the normal class time. There has been an increase in the number of new and returning students to the online course offerings. This indicates a wider acceptance and/or preference for completing some of a student's curriculum via distance education. Several university students have taken our online courses due to scheduling conflicts. A total of 75 students took online courses in the spring, summer, and fall semesters combined in 2007 compared to a total of 64 students for the same time frame in 2005, an increase of 17%. When combined with the general education courses, students can now earn an Associate's degree online at
ACCC. 3. A large number of students will be exposed to career related skills and challenges required in the high demand areas of Agriculture. Approximately 600 students from 30 different secondary schools participated in the Agriculture career event day in both 2006 and 2007. ACCC Agriculture instructors made presentations to approximately 200 students at ten different schools. 4. The Women in Agriculture conference was held three times with the participation increasing three-fold from the first to third conference. Numerous schools have asked about participating in the 4th conference planned for next year.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: This author disseminated information and products of this project at the following: 1. The Southeast district KAAE teachers spring in-service workshop; 2. a state-wide list serve of the KAAE agriculture education instructors; 3. The Kansas State FFA Convention in Manhattan, May 30, 2007, and 4. the Annual meeting of Kansas Association of Colleges and Teachers in Agriculture, held at Hays, Kansas Jan 10-20, 2007. Future plans include the Spec Grant Workshop/NAAE Convention in Las Vegas in December 2007, and the spring area teacher meetings
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The Agriculture Program at Allen County Community College fully intends to continue all of the activities initiated under the 2005 grant program. At least two online courses are being offered every semester including summer and more offerings are being planned. The ability to communicate the need/benefit of Agriculture majors to secondary students via at-school presentations and the annual Agriculture Career Event Day have been very successive and will definitely continue. The unique Women in Agriculture conference has been well received and will continue in the fall semester.
Impacts
Impacts that have been identified and that are expected to occur include: 1. A 10-15 percent increase in the number of students completing on-line Agriculture courses before leaving high school. 2. A 15-25 percent increase in the number of students that will complete a two-year degree in a more non-traditional fashion (i.e. two years on campus) 3. A 5-10 percent increase in the number of students pursuing an agriculture degree at Allen County. 4. A 20 percent increase over the next two years in the number of students participating in the Ag Career Event Day, and a 10-20% increase in the number of female students pursuing Agriculture careers.
Publications
- Women in Agriculture Conference flyer March 20, 2006 Women in Agriculture Conference flyer November 20, 2006 Women in Agriculture Conference mailer - fall 2007 Women in Agriculture Conference flyer November 21, 2007
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Progress 09/15/05 to 09/15/06
Outputs
PROGRESS OF PROPOSED GRANT ACTIVITIES 1. Enhance Agriculture Curriculum program: The curriculum has been enhanced by offering a new course in Environmental Science in addition to incorporating new learning activities into current classes. The Environmental Science course covers sustainability in resource use such as soil and water; diversity in plant and animal populations, best management practices for non-point source pollution, and alternative forms of renewable energy such as biofuels, wind, hydro, and solar power. A biotechnology course has been developed and is scheduled to be offered in the 2007 fall semester. Some of the curriculum enhancements include bringing guest speakers to campus, visiting industry sites, incorporating more hands-on activities in current classes, and conducting a livestock sale at the college farm. 2. Develop new distance learning courses: Two existing courses in the curriculum were redeveloped and offered online through the college
Blackboard learning platform. Agriculture Technology Management deals with problem solving principles in the area of agriculture engineering. Agriculture Orientation deals with career and educational opportunities in Agriculture. Both of these have been offered online at least twice since this grant began and will continue to be offered on a yearly basis. This makes a total of five online agriculture courses available at ACCC. Dozens of secondary students have taken advantage of these courses while still in high school, giving them a unique 2+2 course articulation opportunity. 3. Augment Career Awareness for Secondary Students. This was accomplished by two means. One was having one or more of the ACCC agriculture instructors present information on careers at local high schools and statewide events such as the Kansas FFA convention. Second was to host an Agriculture Career Event Day on April 6th of 2006 and April 5th of 2007. Approximately 600 students from 30 high schools attend each
of the two event days. Participants learned about various industries and job skills in eight different career event areas. Students used skills in problem solving, analysis, evaluation, comparison, and communications in a competitive manner in career events such as: food science, meat technology, agribusiness management, entomology, dairy products, public speaking, livestock evaluation, and nursery and landscape management. 4. Develop Greater Awareness of Careers Among Secondary Female Students. This was accomplished by hosting a "Women in Agriculture" Conference for high school female students. The conference was structured to begin and end with a special presentation or exercise conducted by a special guest. In between, participants selected four rotating sessions to attend from among eight presentations being made. The first conference was held on Tuesday March 20, 2006. The attendance was limited to 45 students due to spring break at many schools and an ice storm. The second
conference was changed to the fall and held on November 20. The conference structure was the same with some returning and some new presenters. Approximately 100 students participated in the conference.
PRODUCTS: Product 1 - With the additions of the courses listed in the progress report, the first product would be an enhanced agriculture curriculum at Allen County Community College that provides a more complete list of hands-on, career related courses. Product 2 - The Ag Career Event Day described briefly in the progress report, was a major accomplishment as it impacted hundreds of students. This activity was very well received by high school students and their instructors. Our college has been asked to host the event again next year and we plan to do so. Product 3 - Distance learning is an area which is becoming more widely accepted and expected, yet few colleges are offering agriculture courses via this medium. Allen County is the only institution among community and technical colleges offering more than a single online course in agriculture. We now have a total of five in place with more in the planning and development stages. These courses have been taken by over 200 students
in the past four years. Product 4 - The Women in Agriculture conferences have been well received by the students attending and their instructors. Just as important, the women professionals who have served as presenters have been highly encouraging to continue this event.
OUTCOMES: 1. A course in Biotechnology was developed and scheduled to be offered for the first time in the fall 2007 semester. 2. Two new courses were developed for on-line students and the three existing online courses were upgraded. Two additional on-campus courses have a web component making them an on-line hybrid and providing opportunities for students outside the normal class time. There has been an increase in the number of new and returning students to the online course offerings. This indicates a wider acceptance and/or preference for completing some of a student's curriculum via distance education. A total of 75 students took online courses in the spring, summer, and fall semesters combined in 2006 compared to a total of 64 students for the same time frame in 2005, an increase of 17%. When combined with the general education courses, students can now earn an Associate's degree online at ACCC. 3. A large number of students will be exposed to career related skills and
challenges required in the high demand areas of Agriculture. Approximately 600 students from 30 different secondary schools participated in the Agriculture career event day in both 2006 and 2007. ACCC Agriculture instructors made presentations to approximately 200 students at ten different schools. 4. The Women in Agriculture conference was held twice with the participation more than double for the 2nd conference. Numerous schools have asked about participating in the 3rd conference planned for next year.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: This author disseminated information and products of this project at the following: 1. The Southeast district KAAE teachers spring in-service workshop; 2. a state-wide list serve of the KAAE agriculture education instructors; 3. The Kansas State FFA Convention in Manhattan, May 30, 2007, and 4. the Annual meeting of Kansas Association of Colleges and Teachers in Agriculture, held at Hays, Kansas Jan 19-20, 2007. Future plans include the state KAAE summer conference to be held in Topeka, KS in August 2007 and the Spec Grant Workshop/NAAE Convention in Las Vegas in December 2007.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The Agriculture Program at Allen County Community College fully intends to continue all of the activities initiated under the 2005 grant program. At least two online courses are being offered every semester including summer and more offerings are being planned. The ability to communicate the need/benefit of Agriculture majors to secondary students via at-school presentations and the annual Agriculture Career Event Day have been very successive and will definitely continue. The unique Women in Agriculture conference has been well received and will continue in the fall semester each year.
Impacts
Impacts that have been identified and that are expected to occur include: 1. a 10-15 percent increase in the number of students completing on-line Agriculture courses before leaving high school. 2. a 15-25 percent increase in the number of students that will complete a two-year degree in a more non-traditional fashion (i.e. two years on campus) 3. a 5-10 percent increase in the number of students pursuing an agriculture degree at Allen County. 4. a 20 percent increase over the next two years in the number of students participating in the Ag Career Event Day, and a 10-20% increase in the number of female students pursuing Agriculture careers.
Publications
- Women in Agriculture Conference flyer March 20, 2006
- Women in Agriculture Conference flyer November 20, 2006
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