Progress 07/01/06 to 06/30/08
Outputs
Project Milestones (Timeline) that were proposed and accomplished for the Agriculture Curriculum Improvement Project include the following: (1) Develop an advanced welding course. AGR 245 Advanced Welding (4 credits) was developed during the summer of 2006, reviewed by the Agriculture Program Advisory Committee during the fall of 2006 and was reviewed and approved by the Clark State Community College Curriculum Committee during the winter of 2007. It was taught for the first time during the Spring 2008 quarter. This course is an introduction and application of the principles of direct current-shielded metal arc (DC SMAW), metal inert gas (MIG) and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. (2) Develop an equipment service and management course. AGR 252 Equipment Maintenance and Operation (4 credits) was developed during the summer of 2006, reviewed by the Agriculture Program Advisory Committee during the fall of 2006 and was reviewed and approved by the Clark State Community College Curriculum Committee during the winter of 2007. It was offered and taught for the first time during the Winter 2008 quarter. This course covers the practical development of best practices for selection, maintenance and operation of a green-industry equipment fleet; development of service schedules, utilization of current technology and successful operational strategies for equipment resources. (3) Update the following online courses: Soil Science (AGR 150), Agribusiness Principles (AGR 174), Ag Sales I (AGR 105), Plant Pests (AGR 122) and Agribusiness Management (AGR 284). All courses were updated and converted from WebCT based online platform to the Angel platform. All five courses were updated, converted and approved during the summer and fall of 2007. (4) Convert two courses, AGR 151 Soil Fertility and AGR 253 Pest Management to online courses. Both courses were developed during the summer of 2007, approved by the Clark State Online Curriculum Committee and offered for the first time during the Winter 2008 quarter. PRODUCTS: Two new traditional courses, Advanced Welding (AGR 245) and Equipment Maintenance and Operation (AGR 252) courses have been developed and approved in 2007. Advanced Welding was offered for the first time during the Spring 2008 quarter. The Equipment Maintenance and Operation course was offered for the first time during the Winter 2008 quarter. Five currently offered online courses, Soil Science (AGR 150), Agribusiness Principles (AGR 174), Ag Sales (AGR 105), Plant Pests (AGR 122) and Agribusiness Management (AGR 284) have been updated and converted from the Web CT to Angel platform system. Two additional courses have been newly created to an online format in the Angel platform including, Soil Fertility (AGR 151) and Pest Management (AGR 253). Both were offered for the first time as online courses during the Winter 2008 quarter. OUTCOMES: The two new courses, Advanced Welding (AGR 245) and Equipment Maintenance and Operation (AGR 252) were highly favored by the Agriculture Program Advisory Committee. They were also very favorably met by the students, with both meeting the maximum enrollment. The five revised online courses were all offered and taught during the Fall 2007 and Winter 2008 quarters. Of the two newly developed online courses, Soil Fertility (AGR 151) was offered and taught during the Winter 2008 quarter. The Pest Management course (AGR 253) was offered, but did not meet the minimum number of students. The online courses have provided an alternative way for students to enroll in courses in the Agribusiness and Horticulture programs at Clark State Community College. Students traveling considerable distances to attend class, or those who have conflicts with the times the in-class sections are offered, or those with limited resources for travel expenses all find it a great advantage of being able to take the required AGR courses online. Both high school students in Vocational Agriculture taking classes for college credit, as well as, the high school agriculture instructors who need certification in their field are finding these courses are a convenient and beneficial option for them. The new Angel platform provides an improved means of communication, evaluation and assessment methods thus making it easier, more uniform and ultimately more successful for students taking multiple online. courses. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Progress reports and outcomes have been continually been reported to the Clark State Agriculture Program Advisory Committee. Additionally they have provided their input into the two new traditional courses. Updates and outcomes were also reported at the Ohio Collegiate Ag Educators meeting in August 2008. Agricultural Business, Agricultural Engineering and Horticultural brochures with the new course offerings are disseminated at four professional conferences and trade shows. These include The Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Trade Show, The Ohio Nursery and Landscape Conference and Central Environmental Nursery Trade Show, Ohio Parks and Recreation Trade Show and the Ohio State managed Farm Science Review Show. Additionally, the new courses and changes are communicated at Tech Prep Pathway meetings of which we are working with seven high school or career technology center agricultural programs. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The seven online courses developed and updated will continue to be offered and publicized. The new Angel platform also allows us to offer "hybrid" courses with some course components online and others in the class. One course, Turf Science (AGR 133) was developed and approved as a hybrid course. The course is currently (Fall 2008) being taught for the first time in this format where students are completing the content/lecture materials online including weekly quizzes, and labs are conducted one day a week on campus. This format seems to be well accepted so far by the students. The Agribusiness and Horticulture programs will be continually assessed in order to meet industry needs. Another future initiative is applying new technology such as Wimba to the online courses. Wimba will allow the instructor to communicate with their students visually in real time. They will therefore be able to not only read the assignment, but see it and hear it as well.
Impacts
Due to increased accessibility of courses, improved course content and methodology, the success rates of students in the online courses is expected to improve by 20%. This result is still yet to be measured. Students especially, entry-level students lack the understanding of the requirements of an online course and thus the success rates are not increasing as of yet. Using new technology such as Wimba where the instructor can communicate with students visually as if in person and have a two way dialogue may assist with the success rate of students. Another impact is enrollment in introductory courses will grow at least 20 percent in two years. Enrollment in the introductory course, AGR 104, Ag Survey and Employability Skills course increased by 34% from Fall 2006 to Fall 2007 and increased by 21% when comparing the Fall 2006 and Fall 2008 enrollment. It was further expected as a result of this project that the overall enrollment would grow by 20% between Fall 2006 and Fall 2008. Overall program enrollment between 2003 and 2008 increased by 34% and increased by 22% from 2006 to 2008. The success rates of student completing the Agribusiness and Horticulture programs will increase by 20%. This expected result will be determined by tracking the number of graduates.
Publications
- A progress report was presented and distributed at the SPEC Workshop and Partnership Reception during the 2007 NAAE Convention, December 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Progress 07/01/06 to 06/30/07
Outputs
Project Milestones (Timeline) that were proposed and the accomplishments made for Summer 2006, Fall 2006, Winter 2007, Spring 2007 and Summer 2007 are as follows: (1) A four credit Advanced Welding course (AGR 245) and a four credit Equipment Maintenance and Operation course (AGR 252) were developed in the Summer of 2006, reviewed by the Agriculture Program Advisory Committee in the Fall of 2006, and were reviewed and approved by the Clark State Community College Curriculum Committee during the Winter of 2007. These courses are scheduled to be offered for the first time in the Winter 2008 Quarter. (2) The following currently offered on-line courses including, Soil Science (AGR 150) Agribusiness Principles (AGR 174), Principles of AG Sales I (AGR 105), Plant Pests (AGR 122), and Agribusiness Management (AGR 284) were all updated and converted from WebCT based online platform to the Angel platform during the Spring and Summer of 2007. The AGR 150, AGR 174 and AGR 122
courses have been approved by Clark State Angel Conversion Course Committee. AGR 105 and AGR 284 are pending approval. (3) The Soil Fertility (AGR 151) and the Pest Management (AGR 253) courses were converted from a traditional type course to online format during the Summer 2007. Both of these courses are pending approval by the Clark State Angel Conversion Course Committee and will be offered for the first time as online courses Winter 2008.
PRODUCTS: Two new traditional courses, Advanced Welding (AGR 245) and Equipment Maintenance and Operation (AGR 252) courses have been developed and are scheduled to be offered for the first time during the Winter 2008 quarter. Five currently offered online courses, Soil Science (AGR 150), Agribusiness Principles (AGR 174), AG Sales I (AGR 105), Plant Pests (AGR 122) and Agribusiness Management (AGR 284) have been updated and converted from WebCT to Angel platform system. Two additional courses have been newly created to an online format in the new Angel platform including, Soil Fertility (AGR 151) and Pest Management (AGR 253).
OUTCOMES: The two new courses, Advanced Welding (AGR 245) and Equipment Maintenance and Operation (AGR 252) were highly favored by the Agriculture Program Advisory Committee. The online courses provide an alternative away for students to enroll in courses in the Agribusiness and Horticulture programs at Clark State Community College. Some students cannot attend at the times for the in-class offerings and others are traveling from considerable distances. The ultimate outcomes are increased enrollments, improved student success rates in the online courses and improved student and employer satisfaction due to increased knowledge and skills.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Agricultural Program Advisory Committee has been updated on the progress of this project. Additionally they have provided their input into the two new traditional courses. Both the online and the new traditional courses have been promoted during program recruitment activities and by visits to local high schools and career technology centers. New Agricultural Business, Agricultural Engineering and Horticultural color brochures were developed. In addition to using these with high school visits they are disseminated at both the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Trade Show and the Central Environmental Nursery Trade Show sponsored by the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association. We have expanded our program offerings to include a new Parks and Recreation major. The new brochures have been disseminated to professionals in this career field as well.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The seven online courses developed and updated will continue to be offered and publicized. The new Angel platform will allow us to also offer more "hybrid" courses or courses with some component online, for example exams. The online courses will be monitored by student evaluations and overall student performance in order to determine their success and to make improvements.
Impacts
Due to increased accessibility of courses, improved course content and methodology, the success rates of students in the online courses is expected to improve by 20%. Due to enhanced program course offerings the enrollment in the Agribusiness and Horticulture Programs is also expected to grow by 20%. Recently released data show that the Agriculture Program had a 38.3% increase in students enrolled over last year (2006) and a five year (2003 - 2007) increase of 12.2%. The two new traditional course offerings should improve the knowledge and skills in welding and equipment maintenance and operation. Since these are skill areas that the industry has requested it should improve the employment possibilities and/or retention of our graduates.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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