Progress 09/15/05 to 09/14/06
Outputs
Agriculture & Natural Resource Department offered fourteen courses during project year. Fall Semester 2005 classes taught were: NaRs 403-Introduction to Tourism with seven students registered with a 60% passing course with a D or above, Rang 113-Range Principles with five students registered, one with-drawl, three passed course with B at a ~60% passing rate, NaRs 103-Environmental Processes with seven students registered, three with-drawls, two remaining passed course with C of above at a ~30% passing rate. PSc 103-Crop Production seven students enrolled, one withdrew, four students passing with a D or higher giving ~57% pass rate. For fall semester the over all pass rate was ~52% of students who registered for a course in August pass by December, 2005. Faculty attended the 2006 Women in Agriculture Conference at Spearfish, SD which energized them for the upcoming academic year. Staff and faculty attended the 2006 CSREES/USDA Administrative Officers Conference in Rapid City, SD. The college also hosted the local area tour. With four tour routes planned for the Pine Ridge Reservation with three of the actual routes materializing and all three ending at Piya Wiconi Administrative building. Spring 2006 courses taught were AnSc 103-Animal Science with seven students enrolled with five passed with a C or above ~71% pass rate. NaRs 133-Dendrology six students enrolled, one dropped, four passed with B or above, & one failed course ~67% pass rate, AgEc 263-Farm & Ranch Management four students enrolled one student passed course ~ 25% pass rate, AnSc 413-Equine Science four students enrolled with two passing course for 50% pass rate, AgEc 253-Reservation Land Use taught independent study to one student with 100% rate at an A, and NaRs 293-Natural Resource Field Experience taught independent study to one student with 100% pass rate at an A. Over all pass rate of students in program for Spring 2008 was ~69% up 17% from fall semester 2005. Eight students funded to attend an Ag Management Tools workshop held by South Dakota State University Extension programming February 9, 2006. Summer 2006 course were as follows: AgEc 132-Plant Health Management with four students completing with a C or above, AgEc 296-Organic Gardening Internship with three students completing course, NaRs 291-special topics-Tourism Guide Training with six students enrolled with all passing course with a C of above and 50% of class passed with an A grade, Rang 103-Range Plant ID four students enrolled with 75% passing course with a C or above and 100% passing with a D or above. Summer pass rate was ~94% with a C or above. Summer classes passing rate was up 42% from fall semester 2005. Summer course have more hands on experience for students and more one-on-one time with instructor. This project addressed the following CSREES Knowledge Areas: KA 121, 131, 135, & 307. PRODUCTS: Advertising flyers for course programs where developed and sent to all ten college centers each semester as recruitment activities. Posters were developed and posted at community buildings across the reservation for recruitment activities each semester and summer session. OUTCOMES: One student completed to Associate degree: AA in Agriculture & and AA in Natural Resources. Eight students had an opportunity to network and broaden their career search by attending the Ag Management Tools workshop held by South Dakota State University Extension in Martin, SD. Twenty students received assistance with books, fees, tuition or educational stipends to aid in their financial stresses while obtaining a college education. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Faculty and staff assisted with Spring and Fall registration of students at the ten college centers across the Pine Ridge reservation and Rapid City, SD. Courses are advertised by local news media on and surrounding the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as on KILI, Indian Country Today, and Lakota Times. Individual flyers were also develop and posted in community location as the post office and community buildings. FUTURE INITIATIVES: Convert classes form Blackboard format to the Moodle format for online instruction due to the cost effectiveness of utilizing Moodle at zero dollar compared to Blackboard at several thousands of dollars during the next four year Equity grant process.
Impacts
The graduating student in the two AA degree programs was a Native American female who obtain employment at the local USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Martin, SD while attending classes at OLC. Her career gold is to become a long term employee with NRCS. A double minority student working hard to move their way into federal USDA employment through the higher education system provided by Oglala Lakota College. She has one more year to complete her BS degree and the AA degrees were the push to continue. The program improved retention of students passing course from ~52% during fall semester 2005 to 69% passing coursed spring semester 2006 (an increase of 17%) to 94% passing summer 2006 course work (an increase of 42% from fall 2005).
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|