Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The results of this project were disseminated as oral presentations to educational professionals at the NACAT/SERD Conference (State College, PA, 2010), the 2011 Floriculture Forum (Dallas, Texas) and the American Society for Horticulture Science Annual Conference (Waikoloa, Hawaii). Results were also presented as a manuscript published in the journal HortTechnology. PARTICIPANTS: In addition to Dr. Michael Evans (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR), participants in this project included Drs. Janet Cole and Jeff Anderson (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK), Drs. Richard Harkess and Tim Shauwecker (Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS) and Drs. Jeff Kuehny and David Picha (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA). TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was plant agricultural education professionals, plant agriculture professionals and students pursuing degrees in the plant agriculture sciences. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The Alliance for Cooperative Course Exchange in the Plant Sciences (ACCEPtS) was established. A set of operating agreements governing the sharing of courses among the participating institutions was developed and approved by the participating institutions. Nine course to be shared were developed and offered. The courses included Greenhouse Management, Greenhouse Management Laboratory, Horticulture Crop Physiology, Plant Growth and Development, Sustainable Landscape Management, International Horticulture, Organic and Sustainable Horticulture, Sustainable Nursery Crop Production and Temperature Stress Physiology. During the first three years of course sharing, a total of 495 students enrolled in ACCEPtS courses for a total of 1389 credit hours. Annual meetings of the ACCEPtS Coordinating Committee were held in order to manage the course offerings, execute tuition exchange and review program operations. A website was developed to provide information about the ACCEPtS program and its course offerings. The results from the operation of the ACCEPtS program were also presented at the NACTA/SERD Conference (State College, PA, 2010), the 2011 Floriculture Forum (Dallas, Texas) and the American Society for Horticulture Science Annual Conference (Waikoloa, Hawaii). Results were also presented as a manuscript published in the journal HortTechnology. Pre-tests and post-tests were used in courses to evaluate effectiveness and in all cases post-test scores were higher than pre-test scores.
Publications
- Evans, Michael R., Richard Harkess, Jeff Kuehny and Janet Cole. 2011. ACCEPtS: An Alliance for Cooperative Course Sharing in the Plant Sciences. HortTechnology 21(6):696-697.
- Evans, Michael, Donna Graham, Janet C. Cole, Edwin Miller, Richard Harkess, Walter Taylor, Jeff Kuehny and Elizabeth Garrison. 2010. The alliance for cooperative course exchange in the plant sciences. NACTA/SERD Conference Proceedings. Abst. #115.
- Kuehny, Jeff, Michael R. Evans, Janet C. Cole and Richard Harkess. 2011. The Alliance for Cooperative Course Sharing in the Plant Sciences. 2011 ASHs Annual Conference Oral Abstracts. Page 142.
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The results of this project were disseminated as oral presentations to educational professionals at the 2011 Floriculture Forum (Dallas, Texas) and the American Society for Horticulture Science Annual Conference (Waikoloa, Hawaii). Results were also presented as a manuscript submitted and accepted for publication in the journal HortTechnology. PARTICIPANTS: In addition to Dr. Michael Evans (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR), participants in this project included Drs. Janet Cole and Jeff Anderson (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK), Drs. Richard Harkess and Tim Shauwecker (Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS) and Drs. Jeff Kuehny and David Picha (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA). TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for this project was plant agricultural education professionals, plant agriculture professionals and students pursuing degrees in the plant agriculture sciences. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The Alliance for Cooperative Course Exchange in the Plant Sciences (ACCEPtS) offered seven courses among the four participating institutions. The courses included Greenhouse Management, Greenhouse Management Laboratory, Horticulture Crop Physiology, Plant Growth and Development, Sustainable Landscape Management, Organic and Sustainable Horticulture, Sustainable Nursery Crop Production and Temperature Stress Physiology. A total of 390 students enrolled in the ACCEPtS courses for a total of 1074 credit hours. Pre-tests and post-tests were used in select courses to evaluate effectiveness. In Greenhouse Management, pre-test scores were 49% while post-test scores increased to 82%. Pre-test scores in Sustainable Nursery Crop Production were 45% and post-test scores were 65%. Pre-test scores in Horticulture Crop Physiology were 59% and post-test scores were 75%. The third Board of Director Meetings of ACCEPtS was held in New Orleans, LA in June 2011. The Board of Directors reviewed the previous two semesters of ACCEPtS courses and operations and met with representatives of the Institute for Academic Alliances to plan for the upcoming semesters. A two-year schedule of course offerings was developed. Arrangements were made for additional training of university personnel with regards to utilization of the Expansis system required for class sharing. The results of this project were disseminated as oral presentations at the 2011 Floriculture Forum (Dallas, Texas) and the American Society for Horticulture Science Annual Conference (Waikoloa, Hawaii). Results were also presented as a manuscript submitted and accepted for publication in the journal HortTechnology.
Publications
- Evans, Michael R., Richard Harkess, Jeff Kuehny and Janet Cole. 2011. ACCEPtS: An Alliance for Cooperative Course Sharing in the Plant Sciences. HortTechnology 21(6).
- Kuehny, Jeff, Michael R. Evans, Janet C. Cole and Richard Harkess. 2011. The Alliance for Cooperative Course Sharing in the Plant Sciences. 2011 ASHA Annual Conference Oral Abstracts. Page 142.
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Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
During the 2009 Fall Semester and the 2010 Spring Semester (2009 - 2010 academic year), the Alliance for Cooperative Course Exchange in the Plant Sciences (ACCEPtS) offered six courses among the four participating institutions. The courses included Greenhouse Management, Greenhouse Management Laboratory, Horticulture Crop Physiology, Sustainable Landscape Management, Sustainable Nursery Crop Production and Temperature Stress Physiology. A total of 194 students enrolled in the ACCEPtS courses for a total of 510 credit hours. Pre-tests and post-tests were used in select courses to evaluate effectiveness. In Greenhouse Management, pre-test scores were 49% while post-test scores increased to 82%. Pre-test scores in Sustainable Nursery Crop Production were 45% and post-test scores were 65%. Pre-test scores in Horticulture Crop Physiology were 59% and post-test scores were 75%. The second Board of Director Meetings of ACCEPtS was held in Fayetteville, Arkansas in May 2010. The Board of Directors reviewed the previous two semesters of ACCEPtS courses and operations and met with representatives of the Institute for Academic Alliances to plan for the upcoming semesters. A two-year schedule of course offerings was developed. Arrangements were made for additional training of university personnel with regards to utilization of the Expansis system required for class sharing. A poster presentation regarding ACCEPtS activities and course results was presented at the NACTA/SERD conference at Pennsylvania State University. PRODUCTS: Nine on-line Plant Sciences were developed. OUTCOMES: As a result of this project, students at the participating institutions are receiving courses to which they would otherwise not have had access. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: A presentation was made at the SERD/NACTA annual meeting in State College, Pennsylvania and a presentation was made to faculty participting in the AG-IDEA program. Work was begun on the development of an ACCEPtS website. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The nine on-line courses will continue to be shared. An additonal course in plant breeding and genetics will be developed and added to the ACCEPtS course offerings. Additional institutions will be recruited to join and participate in the ACCEPtS program.
Impacts
This project has resulted in an improvement in the plant science programs and the participating institutions by providing students with a broad range of courses to which they did not previously have access. Additionally, duplication of courses has been reduced which has improved efficiencies of teaching resources utilization.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/09
Outputs
The first Board of Director Meetings of ACCEPtS was held in St. Louis, Missouri in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Society for Horticulture Science. At the meeting, the ACCEPtS Memorandum of Agreement, By-laws and financial documents were amended and subsequently submitted to the participating institutions' governing boards for final approval. The Board of Directors also met with representatives of the Institute for Academic Alliances to plan for the upcoming semesters and to arrange for training of university personnel with regards to utilization of the Expansis system required for class sharing. PRODUCTS: Descriptions and syllabi for all classes were approved at three of the four participating institutions and were submitted for approval at the fourth participating institution. OUTCOMES: In fall semester of 2009, the ACCEPtS program offered Greenhouse Management and Greenhouse Management Laboratory as its first shared class among the participating institutions. Forty-seven students enrolled in Greenhouse Management and thirty-two students registered for Greenhouse Management Laboratory. Students registering for the two classes were physically located in Oklahoma City, OK; Tulsa, OK; Fayetteville, AR; Booneville, AR; Mena, AR; Starkville, MS; Baton Rouge, LA and New Orleans, LA. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Four shared ACCEPtS classes for spring semester 2010 were advertised and offered to students for registration. FUTURE INITIATIVES: Instructors of the eight designated classes are developing materials required for the teaching of their respective classes in future semesters.
Impacts
The content of the eight designated distance education courses will be updated annually, and the relevance of classroom topics will improve due to a greater interaction between faculty and students in each state. Non-traditional participant enrollment in the Internet-based program vs. the resident-based program is expected to increase significantly.
Publications
- Evans, M., D. Graham, J. Cole, E. Miller, R. Harkess, W. Taylor, J. Kuehny and E. Garrision. 2009. The Alliance for Cooperative Course Exchange in the Plant Sciences. HortScience 44(4):1136.
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