Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project was designed to recruit high-achieving students into the agribusiness degree program at SC State University. Activities conducted included developing recruitment brochures, high school visitations by agribusiness faculty, summer camps for high school students, summer institutes for high school teachers, and networking with Clemson University to promote student recruitment through FFA Chapters across the state. Recruitment Brochures: Agribusiness recruitment brochures were developed to illustrate a brief overview of the field of agribusiness, career opportunities, the curriculum and the application process at SC State University. The brochures emphasized special benefits from our agribusiness program housed in the College of Business. High School Visitations: In spring semester 2009, two faculty members made recruitment visits to five high schools. Similarly, in 2010 two faculty members and a graduate student visited six high schools. The purpose of the high school visits was to inform the students about the field of agribusiness, career opportunities and the agribusiness degree program at the University. The visits were useful in recruiting students for the agribusiness summer camps. Agribusiness Summer Camps: One-week Agribusiness Summer Camps were conducted in 2009 and 2010 on the university campus for high school students. Attendance in 2009 was 22 students and in 2010 it was 18. Participating students learned about agribusiness as a discipline, its employment opportunities and specific requirements of the agribusiness program at SC State. The students also learned about the Business Program at SC State, scholarship opportunities, financial aid, and other aspects of university life. Students also engaged in group projects focusing on entrepreneurship and other competitive activities. One-day Agribusiness Institute for High School Teachers: Two institutes were conducted. The first institute was in 2009 with 14 teachers and the second in 2010 with 12 teachers. The institutes emphasized the industrialization and commercialization of American agriculture, their implications for higher education in agriculture and future career opportunities for graduates. Field Trip: Thirteen agribusiness students, eight supported by this project and five by the USDA Multicultural Scholarship grant attended the 2011 Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum organized by USDA in February 2011 in Arlington, VA. Dissemination of Project Information: Project information was widely disseminated through local media. Program brochures were distributed at targeted high schools. Agribusiness Summer Camp activities were publicized as special news articles in the local newspaper. The information was also posted on the university's website for the use of all stakeholders of the university. Additionally, details of SC State's agribusiness program and project activities were presented at the annual meeting of the SC Agriculture Association of Agricultural Educators held at Clemson University on July 20, 2009. Over 80 agriculture teachers from South Carolina in attendance were able to learn about the agribusiness program at SC State. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Barbara Adams served as the PI for this project. During the course of the project, Dr. Adams was appointed as an Interim Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. She continued to serve as the PI to provide overall guidance to the project. Entrepreneurship is one of the fields of interest for Dr. Adams. During both summer camps she developed entrepreneurship projects for participating students and supervised the completion of those projects. Dr. Haile M. G. Selassie served as Project Supervisor. Dr. Selassie, Professor of Agribusiness, was appointed as Interim Chair of the Department of Accounting, Agribusiness and Economics when Dr. Adams was appointed as Interim Associate VP for Academic Affairs. In addition to providing overall supervision to the project, Dr. Selassie made high school visitations to recruit students, helped plan and implement student summer camps and summer institutes for teachers, made presentations during the summer camps, accompanied students on the field trip to Washington, DC and helped develop the recruitment brochures. Dr. Suresh R. Londhe served as the Project Manager for this project. Dr. Londhe is a retired Professor of Agribusiness from SC State University. He was responsible for the implementation of the project. He developed relevant contacts with individuals and organizations, organized the summer camps for high school students and summer institute for high school teachers, made high school visitations, accompanied students to field trips, developed recruitment brochures and conducted all other activities necessary for successful implementation of the project. Mr. William E. Keels of Clemson University is the State Director for South Carolina Agricultural Education. In that capacity, he coordinates the activities of SC Future Farmers of America (SCFFA) Association and the SC Agriculture Association of Agricultural Educators (SCAAE). Mr. Keels provided enthusiastic cooperation to the project. Through his network of SCFFA and SCAAE, Mr. Keels disseminated information about the agribusiness program of SCSU and announcements for summer camps. Mr. Keels, along with his associate, attended and also made a presentation at our first summer institute for high school teachers. TARGET AUDIENCES: High school students and teachers were the primary audiences for this project. The students need to know about the field of agribusiness, career opportunities in agribusiness and the B.S. degree program at SC State University. High school teachers also need the same information when they advise their students about college careers. The students and teachers were reached through faculty visits to high schools, dissemination of program brochures and announcements in the local media and communications from SCAAE. Other audience group was the general public that also includes parents of high school students. These were reached through announcements in local media and with the information posted on the university website. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: There was one minor modification to the project. The agribusiness curriculum review by an external panel was not conducted because the agribusiness curriculum, along with other business curricula, were thoroughly reviewed and revised in 2008 in preparation for affirmation of accreditation of the Business Programs by the AACSB International, the accrediting agency. With this background, it was decided that another curriculum review by an external panel would be redundant. Instead, it was decided that the funds for curriculum review should be used for student scholarships.
Impacts
Since the objective of this project was to recruit high school students for the B.S. degree program in agribusiness, the techniques and activities of the project called for working with high school students, their teachers and counselors, and other related entities that work with high schools. Impact of Summer Camps: Four high school students who attended the agribusiness summer camp in 2009 and two from the 2010 camp joined the agribusiness program after graduation. The freshmen enrollment in the agribusiness degree program was 11 students in fall 2009 compared to no new freshmen in 2008 and only two in 2007. This is a significant impact of this project. Networking: The agribusiness program at SC State developed a close cooperative partnership with the SC Future Farmers of America (FFA) Association and the SC Association of Agriculture Educators (SCAAE). Mr. William E. Keels who is the State Director of Agricultural Education at Clemson University arranged for Dr. Londhe, Project Director, to make a presentation at the annual meeting of SCAAE. Program Gained Visibility: With various activities conducted under this grant, the agribusiness program has achieved a high degree of visibility among the general public, parents, teachers and students. This visibility should help the recruitment of students in the agribusiness program. Increase in Student Enrollment: Student enrollment in the agribusiness program has shown a steady and modest improvement. The number of students enrolled in agribusiness is as follows: 14 in 2006, 15 in 2007, 14 in 2008, 18 in 2009, and 20 in 2010. The number of first-time freshmen in agribusiness is as follows: 5 in 2006, 2 in 2007, 0 in 2008, 5 in 2009 and 5 in 2010. Prior to this Capacity Building Grant Project, the agribusiness program experienced a sharp decline in student enrollment with only two new freshmen in 2007 and no new freshmen in 2008. Scholarships: During the grant period twelve agribusiness students were awarded scholarships.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
The overall objective of this project is to recruit and train high-achieving high school students in the B.S. degree program of agribusiness at SC State. This is expected to enhance cultural diversity in the agribusiness profession. Many Colleges of Agriculture in the U.S. are experiencing decline in enrollments of students in their programs, including agribusiness. Student enrollment data from FAEIS indicates a low number of African-American graduates in agribusiness. This consequently leads to minority under-representation in the agribusiness profession. This project was designed to attract good students into the agribusiness degree program at SC State to address the issues of minority under-representation in the profession. Various activities were conducted as planned during the reporting period as part of recruitment efforts. These include high school visitation by agribusiness faculty, summer camp for high school students, summer institute for high school teachers, and networking with Clemson University to promote recruitment through FFA Chapters across the state. PRODUCTS: Following activities were conducted to recruit high school students for the agribusiness program: In spring 2010 two faculty members and a graduate student visited six high schools to promote the agribusiness program. Agribusiness Summer Camp at SC State was conducted from June 21-25, 2010 that was attended by eighteen high school students representing five high schools. Participating students learned about agribusiness as a discipline, its employment opportunities and specific requirements of the agribusiness program at SC State. The students were also made knowledgeable about the Business Program at SC State, scholarship opportunity, financial aid, and other aspects of the University. The students also engaged in many other group projects and competitive activities. There was one-day field trip to the BMW automobile manufacturing plant located in Greer, SC. One-day Agribusiness Institute was conducted on July 21, 2010 for high school teachers of business and agriculture. Twelve high school teachers of business and agriculture attended the institute. The program emphasized the industrialization and commercialization of American agriculture and its implications for higher education in agriculture emphasizing agribusiness. The participants were provided details of the Business Programs with special emphasis on the careers in agribusiness program. OUTCOMES: Two students who attended the agribusiness summer camp joined the agribusiness program in fall 2010. As a result of the activities of this Capacity Building Grant and the publicity generated by the USDA Multicultural Scholarships grant to SC State the four additional freshmen and transfer students enrolled in the agribusiness degree program in fall 2010. Total student enrollment in agribusiness program in fall 2010 was 20 students. This is a significant impact of this project. As a result of the Agribusiness Institute it became possible to establish linkages with twelve high school teachers of business and agriculture. With various activities conducted under this grant, the agribusiness program of SC State has achieved more visibility in the state that should help student recruitment in the future. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The project information was widely disseminated through various media. Program brochures were mailed to targeted schools for distribution to teachers and students. Information brochures were also distributed to teachers and students during agribusiness faculty visits at selected school. Agribusiness Summer Camp activities were printed in a special news article in the local news paper. The information was also posted on the University's web site for the use of students, faculty, alumni and all other stake holders. FUTURE INITIATIVES: One major planned activity is to take agribusiness students on a field trip. We anticipate taking students to participate in the 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum organized by USDA in Washington, DC. Agribusiness faculty will maintain communications with vocational agriculture teachers and guidance counselors to recruit students in the agribusiness program. Faculty will visit targeted high schools to promote the agribusiness program and recruit students.
Impacts
The B.S. degree program of SC State has achieved a high degree of visibility in the state as a result of various promotional and dissemination activities such as the Agribusiness Summer Camp, Agribusiness Institute and faculty visits to high schools. As a result the student enrollment in the agribusiness program in fall 2010 was 20 students.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/08 to 08/31/09
Outputs
The overall objective of this project is to recruit and train high-achieving high school students to the B.S. degree program in agribusiness at SC State. This is expected to enhance cultural diversity in the agribusiness profession. Many Colleges of Agricultural in the U.S. are experiencing decline in enrollments of students in their programs, including agribusiness. Student enrollment data from FAEIS indicates a low number of African-American graduates in agribusiness. This consequently leads to minority under-representation in the agribusiness profession. This project is designed to attract good students into the agribusiness program to address the issues of minority under-representation in the profession. Various activities were conducted as planned during the reporting period as part of recruitment efforts. These include high school visitation by agribusiness faculty, summer camp for high school students, summer institute for high school teachers, and networking with Clemson University to promote recruitment through FFA Chapters across the state. PRODUCTS: Following activities were conducted to recruit high school students for the agribusiness program: In spring 2009 two faculty members visited five high schools to promote the program. Agribusiness Summer Camp at SC State was conducted from June 15-19, 2009 that was attended by twenty-two high school students representing five high schools. Participating students learned about agribusiness as a discipline, its employment opportunities and specifics of the agribusiness program at SC State. The students also engaged in many other group projects and competitive activities. There was one-day field trip to the manufacturing plant of Honda Motors. One-day Agribusiness Institute was conducted for high school agriculture teachers on July 16, 2009. Fourteen agriculture teachers and the Director and Associated Director of the SC FFA Association (allied with Clemson University) attended the institute. The program emphasized the industrialization and commercialization of American agriculture and its implications for higher education in agriculture emphasizing agribusiness. The participants were provided details of the agribusiness program at SC State. OUTCOMES: Four students who attended the agribusiness summer camp joined the agribusiness program in fall 2009. As a result of the activities of this Capacity Building Grant and the publicity generated by the USDA Multicultural Scholarships grant to SC State the freshmen enrollment in agribusiness degree program was 11 students in fall 2009 compared no freshmen in 2008 and only two in 2007. This is a significant impact of this project. SC State and Clemson University are working on a formal arrangement of cooperation in recruiting for their respective programs. Clemson University will actively support undergraduate agribusiness recruitment efforts of SC State through the SC FFA Association and the Association of SC Agriculture Teachers. In return, SC State will cooperate with Clemson University in its efforts to recruit our agribusiness graduates for the master's degree in Agricultural Education at Clemson. It is encouraging to see the cooperation between 1890 and 1862 institutions in the state to work together for common good. With various activities conducted under this grant, the agribusiness program of SC State has achieved more visibility in the state that should help student recruitment. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The project information was widely disseminated through various media. Program brochures were mailed to targeted schools for distribution to teachers and students. Information brochures were also distributed to teachers and students during agribusiness faculty visits at selected school. Agribusiness Summer Camp activities were printed in a special news article in the local news paper. The information was also posted on the University's web site for the use of students, faculty, alumni and all other stake holders. Additionally, details of SC State's agribusiness program and project activities were presented at the Agriculture Teachers Annual Conference held at Clemson University on July 20, 2009. Over 80 agriculture teachers in South Carolina were able to learn more about the agribusiness program at SC State. FUTURE INITIATIVES: One-week Agribusiness Summer Camp for about 25 high school students is planned in the third week of June, 2010. One day Agribusiness Institute will be held in July, 2010 for about 15 high school agriculture teachers. Agribusiness faculty and a graduate student will visit targeted high schools to promote the agribusiness program.
Impacts
The B.S. degree program of SC State has achieved a high degree of visibility in the state as a result of various dissemination activities such as the Agribusiness Summer Camp, Agribusiness Institute and presentation at the Agriculture Teachers Annual Conference. As a result, the freshman student enrollment in the agribusiness program increased from no freshman in 2008 to 11 freshmen in 2009.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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