Progress 07/01/15 to 06/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Advising, Professional Development and the Program Toward the end of spring semester Fellows completed a feedback form about their experiences during fall and spring semesters. Fellows recorded their levels of agreement or disagreement (strongly disagree / disagree / agree / strongly agree) with eight statements about academic advising. The strongest agreement (5 strongly agree and one agree) was with the two statements "advising has been available when I needed it" and "sufficient time has been available during advising sessions". Frequency distributions of Fellows dis/agree responses are displayed in the following table. Academic Advising at CSU (N = 6) Statement ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In general the academic advising has been worthwhile. Strongly Agree: 4 Agree: 2 Disagree: Srongly Disagree: Academic advising has helped me make good decisions about my course work. Strongly Agree: 5 Agree: 1 Disagree: Srongly Disagree: Advising has been available when I needed it. Strongly Agree: 5 Agree: 1 Disagree: Srongly Disagree: Sufficient time has been available during advising sessions. Strongly Agree: 5 Agree: 1 Disagree: Srongly Disagree: Academic advising helped me develop analytical, interpretive, writing, verbal, quantitative, and research skills, where appropriate, in accordance with the expectations of the discipline. Strongly Agree: 4 Agree: 1 Disagree: 1 Srongly Disagree: Academic Advising has encouraged me to participate in professional meetings and other networking events. Strongly Agree: 4 Agree: 2 Disagree: Srongly Disagree: I have been supplied with information about the variety of employment opportunities available to graduates of the program. Strongly Agree: 2 Agree: 3 Disagree: 1 Srongly Disagree: I have been satisfied in general with the formal and informal advising I have received with regard to encouraging me to think about my career as a greenhouse gas accounting professional. Strongly Agree: 3 Agree: 3 Disagree: Srongly Disagree: Fellows said that their advisors were always willing to talk, helped shape course selection, used a very positive advising approach ("great advising"), counseled them on their careers, helped prepare them to apply for a professional position (e.g., writing personal statements), supported the internship process, and helped them broaden their professional network. These are two selected comments: Advising has helped me to think about aspects of my studies, career, and opportunities that I would not have otherwise. I greatly appreciate the support from the professors that helped connect me to effective networking and employment opportunities. Fellows were asked to comment about the strengths of the program in helping them acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and interest for GHG management and accounting. These were their comments: The coursework has been very applicable and I feel that I will have a strong background heading into my internship this summer. The technical skills (R coding, Excel, etc.) I have learned are extremely valuable. The coursework is very hands-on and specific, and the small program size makes it possible to form connections with the staff and find additional opportunities. Dr. Conant does a great job of sending different opportunities out to all of us. The program is great for informing GHG foundation knowledge to the students every semester. There are many opportunities for students to ask questions, and learn more about the topics discussed. In addition, the technical skills learned in the ESS 545 have been vital for understanding the field. Both program instructors are willing to help the students, and are concerned about their future after the program, which is very motivating. The program is very well organized and run. Case studies and examples of real-world scenarios that have helped me to develop a strong understanding of the materials. We are encouraged to think outside the box and use examples pertaining to areas of interest. I feel that this program has prepared me for a career and that it led me to delve into subjects head first. The program provides a great overview of the applications and skills necessary to advance oneself in MGMA. Through the support and opportunities provided, I fully expect to meet my learning objectives by the end of the program, with a more certain career focus. The strengths of the program are the exercises in quantifying GHG emissions and their respective uncertainties. These exercises provide you with technical skills applicable in the career field. This is by far the biggest strength. This has pushed me to focus on carbon offset projects, creating a desire to seek a better understanding of market driven climate mitigation. Suggestions for improving the program were recorded by Fellows each spring. Suggestions that pertained to the coursework included having more clarity regarding which courses were most aligned with the student's area of interest and with what employers are seeking when they are hiring, having more courses available to students in the program (e.g., either increase the number of courses in the program or allow electives outside the program's offerings), structuring the program so that all students are able to take a management course, and having other course options such as courses in the energy sector and economics. These were three other suggestions for improving the program: I was happy with the advising I received during the school year; however, before starting in the program, I received very little assistance with determining classes for the first semester. I used what information I was able to find online, but the program page needs to be updated, and it was rather tricky to navigate without understanding all of the options. I would like additional information about possible careers. This could come the semester before Fellows finish with the program. Since this is a professional science Master's program the primary focus should be on including career driven exercises. I would have liked to have some workshops that focused on applying for internships and the variety of jobs available post-graduation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Introduction This report is a summary of the evaluation of the project with pooled information from six supported Fellows. Academic years for each of the cohorts were: Cohort 1 (2016-17), Cohort 2 (2017-18), Cohort 3 (2018-19) and Cohort 4 (2019-20). Cohort 1 included two graduate students (one female and one male), Cohort 2 included one graduate student (male), Cohort 3 includes two graduate students (one female and one male) and there is one graduate student (female) in Cohort 4. This external evaluation included three online surveys with findings reported to the PI after each survey administration was completed. The first survey was administered shortly after fall semester started each year when the new cohort of Fellows had been in class for a about a week. The purpose of the first survey was to find out what the Fellows thought of the recruitment and application process. The evaluation questions for this programmatic component were: 1) Is the project doing what it said it would do? 2) To what extent and with what quality have recruitment and application activities been implemented? 3) How can these activities be improved? 4) Was there evidence that CSU had infrastructure that effectively supported the Fellows? 5) Why did Fellows decide to apply to the program; what about it was of most interest to them? The second survey was administered toward the end of the spring semester each year. The purpose of the second survey was to ask Fellows about the program's academic advising, the guidance they had received about their summer internship and the extent to which the Master of GHG Management and Accounting (MGMA) program supported the development of targeted knowledge and skills. The evaluation questions for the student-centered component were: 1) What changes in knowledge, skills and/or understandings can be attributed to Fellows' participation in the MGMA program? 2) To what extent and with what quality was the program implemented? The third survey was administered after the completion of the internship. This form was administered either at the end of summer or beginning of fall each year. Fellows were asked to reflect on the impact of their internships on their development of their career goals, quality of assignments, networking opportunities and professional development. Fellows were asked to provide suggestions for improving the CSU training of the First Generation of Greenhouse Gas Account Professionals based on what they had learned during their internship. The evaluation questions were: 1) What resulted from the internship? 2) What was the quality of the internship? 3) What evidence was there of the worth or merit of the internships? About six months after Fellows graduated with their Master's, they were contacted by email to find out if they had jobs in their primary field. The purpose of this tracking of the Fellows after attaining their Master of GHG Management and Accounting was to answer this evaluation question: How did the MGMA program impact Fellows and how effectively did the degree program train Fellows? Findings Fellows learned about the CSU Master of GHG Management and Accounting (MGMA) degree program from personal contacts with CSU staff and faculty and the MGMA website. Personal one-on-one conversations were especially useful for recruiting five of the six Fellows. The MGMA website and continued electronic (email) and personal contact with the advisor in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability were instrumental in providing information that supported Fellows and retained their interest in the program during the recruitment process. Fellows learned about the USDA fellowship from the MGMA website and from contacts with staff and faculty at CSU. Fellows were satisfied with the application process. Overall, Fellows were very complimentary of the MGMA advisors who they contacted during this process. Suggestions for improving the application process were about having more specifics available such as dates when fellowships would be awarded, guidelines on out-of-state tuition, and when payments would be made in relation to participation in and completion of the internship. Fellows reported two or three things about the MGMA program that were most influenced in their decision to apply to the program. Aspects of the program that attracted Fellows were the new emerging field of study that included an internship and a curriculum that emphasized practical skills that would be relevant when they applied for jobs in their respective fields. Fellows said their advisors were always willing to talk, helped shape course selection, used a very positive advising approach ("great advising"), counseled them on their careers, helped prepare them to apply for a professional position (e.g., writing personal statements), supported the internship process, and helped them broaden their professional network.
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Progress 07/01/18 to 06/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:This project supported fellowships for students in CSU's Masters of Greenhouse Gas Management and Accounting. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Fellows shared the things about the MGMA program that were of most interest to them when they made the decision to apply to the program: Building skills particularly in agriculture using remote sensing and leveraging the management or similar land-based operations and communicating these stories to the local population through the educational institutions and the marker place. The internship, the opportunities to tailor the program to my interests, and the intimate size of the program. Learning about outliers (business, organizations, individuals) which are creating a climate shift worth noting. Gaining the business and management background to scale services to communities. The general overview through different coursework is what I look forward to most. I believe that the courses will cover a wide variety of necessary topics in fully understanding GHG Management and Accounting. I am specifically interested in agricultural influence on GHG levels as well as the possible mitigation tactics being researched or applied to the sector. The specificity of the program, the hands-on opportunity to learn how we can directly work with companies and organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the use of an internship instead of a thesis are some of the things of most interest to me as they seem very beneficial from a professional standpoint. When I first heard about the program, I instantly was drawn to the idea of an internship-based program rather than a thesis-based program. I think a thesis would be good to get publications and become experts on a single topic, but I saw more value in getting real world experience along with networking opportunities. I think this type of Master's program speaks volumes in preparing students for future careers. I was also incredibly impressed by the credentials of Dr. Conant and Dr. Ogle. Working with Nobel Prize winners is a dream come true for a student, and I think this should be advertised more. It is almost like a secret treasure of the program! They truly are astonishingly successful and connected professors, which drew me into an amazing opportunity. Lastly, I found the video on the MGMA CSU page interesting. After showing this to my parents, they understood more about what the program entailed and how this field is becoming vitally important for the future. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Fellows learned about the CSU Master of GHG Management and Accounting (MGMA) degree program from personal contacts with CSU staff and faculty and the MGMA website. Personal one-on-one conversations were especially useful for recruiting five of the six Fellows. The MGMA website and continued electronic (email) and personal contact with the advisor in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability were instrumental in providing information that supported Fellows and retained their interest in the program during the recruitment process. Fellows learned about the USDA fellowship from the MGMA website and from contacts with staff and faculty at CSU. Fellows were satisfied with the application process. Overall, Fellows were very complimentary of the MGMA advisors who they contacted during this process. Suggestions for improving the application process were about having more specifics available such as dates when fellowships would be awarded, guidelines on out-of-state tuition, and when payments would be made in relation to participation in and completion of the internship. Fellows reported two or three things about the MGMA program that were most influenced in their decision to apply to the program. Aspects of the program that attracted Fellows were the new emerging field of study that included an internship and a curriculum that emphasized practical skills that would be relevant when they applied for jobs in their respective fields. Fellows said their advisors were always willing to talk, helped shape course selection, used a very positive advising approach ("great advising"), counseled them on their careers, helped prepare them to apply for a professional position (e.g., writing personal statements), supported the internship process, and helped them broaden their professional network. Based on feedback from the six Fellows, the strengths of the MGMA program included hands-on, applicable coursework with real-world case study scenarios, the fostering of creative thinking, and the development of technical skills in an environment that provided many opportunities for discussion. The program was very well organized, and students were highly satisfied with it. Suggestions for improving the program were recorded by Fellows. Suggestions for improving the coursework included having more clarity on which courses would be beneficial for developing the professional skills in each student's area of interest, more clarity about what skills and knowledge employers are most interested in when hiring, having more courses available to students in the program (e.g., either increase the number of courses in the program or allow electives outside the program's offerings), structuring the program so that all students are able to take a management course, and having more course options such as courses in the energy sector and economics. Other suggestions were to update the program page, include additional information in the program about possible careers, and have more focus on career driven exercises. Fellows were asked to rate the extent (0 = not at all, 1 = small extent, 2 = moderate extent and 3 = large extent) to which the MGMA program helped develop knowledge and skills associated with understanding the major concepts and issues in GHG management and accounting. All six Fellows recorded the rating "3 = large extent". Based on Fellows' recorded ratings, the program also supported the development of the following knowledge and skills to a large extent (means of 2.5 and 2.7): progress toward meeting learning objectives; ability to apply high-order technical and problem-solving skills; documenting data sources, approaches and assumptions; successfully working collaboratively; and understanding of what GHG management accounting is as a discipline and how it benefits and contributes to society. One of the Cohort 1 Fellow's internship was for Field to Market and the other Cohort 1 Fellow's internship was developing the City of Northampton, Massachusetts's first greenhouse gas inventory. The Cohort 2 Fellow's internship was at CSU as a research assistant. One of the Cohort 3 Fellows had an internship as an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow working with the Bank of America to develop an offset procurement strategy in addition to working on their 100% renewable pledge. The second Cohort 3 Fellow was an intern at Turner Industries during spring 2020. Four Fellows recorded ratings (1 to 5, 5 excellent, 3 = acceptable, and 1 = unacceptable) of various internship characteristics and dimensions. All four internships were rated "5 = excellent" for the orientation their internship mentor/s provided to the orientation position, the opportunity the internship provided for Fellows to develop new skills and abilities, and the knowledge interns gained about the profession and/or industry. In April 2020, four of the Fellows had graduated with an MGMA degree, one was scheduled to graduate in May 2020, and one Fellow was planning to graduate in May 2021. All graduates were employed in jobs in which they were able to use the skills and knowledge they gained as students in the program.
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Progress 07/01/17 to 06/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:This project supports fellowships for two graduate students. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Cohort 1 Fellow walked at the December 2017 graduation ceremony but needed to complete an online class for the last few credits to full graduation. Unfortunately, this Fellow became very ill and underwent five surgeries but was able to graduate at the end of fall semester 2018. This Fellow's summer 2017 internship was at the University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute with the City of Northampton to help create their first municipal greenhouse gas inventory. The Fellow wrote about the internship and the CSU program, "The internship was very interesting. I would recommend the MGMA program to anyone looking for experience in the environmental field." This Fellow graduated and was hired by the State of Colorado in the Department of Public Health and Environment Tier II hazardous chemical inventory reporting division. Another of the Cohort 1 Fellows works for the State of Colorado in the Commercial & Industrial Energy Services division of the Colorado Energy Office as a temporary Program Associate. This Fellow internedat Field to Market which helps growers and the supply chain benchmark sustainability performance, catalyze continuous improvement and verify sustainability claims.by providing measurement tools and resources that are outcomes-based and grounded in science.The Cohort 2 Fellow's internship was in spring 2019 however as a research assistant at CSU this Fellow gained experience developing and managing large databases including assembling a global database on carbon sequestration occurring from cropland abandonment. The database was used as a model input to analyze historical GHG emissions from deforestation using R-studio. His experience as a CSU research assistant was a very relevant experience and enhanced the Fellows' analytical skills that will be useful in a career. This Fellow's internship in spring semester 2019 led to a full-time position as a Junior Environmental IT Consultant with Huco Consulting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
There were two students in Cohort 1 and one student in Cohort 2. This report section includes information collected from these three students in January-March 2019. All three Fellows graduated with a Master of GHG Management and Accounting (MGMA) and work in fields where they use the skills and knowledge they gained in the MGMA program.
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Progress 07/01/16 to 06/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The project's primary goal was to recruit, retain, and offer services and stipends to six Fellows from under-represented groups. Six Fellows (three females) participated in the project. None of the Fellows were from ethnic/racial under-represented groups. The project had seven goals identified as programmatic, student-centered, and institutional. Programmatic goals (Goals 1 and 2) were aimed at recruiting, retaining, and offering services and stipends to six Fellows from under-represented groups. Student-centered goals (Goals 3-5) were designed to increase student GHG management and accounting knowledge, technical skills and communication skills, and provide them with an understanding of a variety of career avenues to consider and a range of placement opportunities. Institutional goals (Goals 6-7) were designed to leverage NNF support to enhance the program. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We developed a new professional development training series for the MGMA students that is comprised of training in networking, resume building, and mock interviews. In coordination with the College career office and another department in the College (the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources program), we delivered the program to professional students in both departments. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We believe we are doing a good job with the program and have no additional activities planned for subsequent reporting periods.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We recruited and retained one student in the fourth cohort. The student was able to achieve the student-centric goals through the coursework, internship, and supplemental career training offered as parts of the Masters' degree in Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Management. NNF support has enabled core support for the program and we have been able to attract other students to the program.
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Progress 07/01/15 to 06/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:We have targeted incoming students from minority institutions for the Masters Program in Greenhouse Gas Management & Accounting. With support from this grant, we were able to advertise the program more widely at minority-serving and other institutions. As a result, the number of applicants to the program increased and we have identified two high-achieving (female) applicants to whom we have offered Nationaln Needs Fellowships for matriculation in Fall 2016.. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We were able to bolster our course offerings, partner with the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, allowing our students to access their courses, and place our first cohort of students in top-notch internships (at USAID, the Center for the New Energy Economy, Field-to-Market, Ducks Unlimited, and the Brendle Group. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have expanded our recruitment materials and efforts by visiting regional insitutions and professional groups (e.g., Field-to-Market, C-AGG, etc.). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We hope that two students accept fellowship to enter the program in Fall 2016. We will build a more efficient sales funnel to generate more leads and more-effective follow-up. We will continue to build partnerships, expand our offerings, and build our brand.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We made progress toward goals 1 and 2: we recruited a larger class of incoming students, and have offered fellowships to two (female) students We made progress on student-centered goals by (1) bolstering our course offerings, (2) partnering with the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute, allowing our students to access their courses, (3) placing our first cohort of students in top-notch internships (at USAID, the Center for the New Energy Economy, Field-to-Market, Ducks Unlimited, and the Brendle Group), (4) establishing partnerships with similar emerging programs in developing countries (e.g., University of Maseno and Wanto Ganet U), and (5) conducting career training and developing a career database supporting student self-assessment. We are in the process of establishing an exeternal advisory board and building on engagement with other units on campus. Our program is now recognized for it's novelty.
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