Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The project is problem based as the focus is to increase the low enrollment of Agriculture Science Majors at Palau Community College. A majority of students that do enroll at PCC are choosing to go into Office Administration or related fields, as it is considered ideal to work in an office setting. Agriculture Science is not considered an ideal field as it is perceived as a common way of life, as Micronesians are and have basically practiced fishing and farming as a means of survival. Agricultrue Science is automatically associated with farming, hence the notion that it is not an ideal professional career. This mindset contributes to the low enrollment of students in the Agriculture Science program; hence the lack of professionals and technicians in the field of Agriculture and related sciences.Approaches to increase the enrollment and graduation of Agriculture Science students include recruitment and retention activities that are tailored to attract and retain students. Recruitment activities include the dissemination of brochures and information about the Agriculture Science Program during scheduled recruitment activities in all the local high schools and PCC New Student Orientations. Retention activities include academic support/enrichment activities; work-study practicum; scholarships; and field based summer internships. These approaches will increase the likelihood of success in the effort to recruit, retain and graduate Agriculture Science students. Increasing the enrollment and graduation of Agriculture Science students will help meet the local and regional need for professionals and technicians in the field of Agriculture and related sciences.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The major goals of the project is to increase enrollment, retention and graduation rate of Agriculture Science students. The following are the performance objectives:1. 5% of all incoming PCC Students will select Agriculture Science as a major each academic year.2. 70% of all Agriculture Science students will maintain a cumulative grade piont average (CGPA) of 2.00 and above.3. 65% of Agriculture Science students will be retained each academic year.4. 80% of Agriculture Science students scheduled to graduate each academic year will graduate.
Project Methods
ENA (a) Curricula Design, Materials Development, and Library Resources - The Project Director and Co Director will collaborate with Instructor(s) in Agriculture Science, other STEM Programs and Librarian to identify and procure needed instructional materials and laboratory equipments, and library resource materials. Project Director and Co Director will work with Agriculture Science instructors to identify students that have the potential and interests to conduct research. For academic support/enrichment activities instructors will collaborate with Cooperative Research and Extension Researchers to identify potential research focus for students. Students will work under the tutelage of researchers to conduct Agriculture and related science research. Students will share results of their research in the annual STEM symposium held at the college to an audience of college staff & faculty; students; and the local community. The Project Director and Co Director will work with Agriculture Science and other STEM instructors to identify and support their participation in professional development activities. Professional development will include Agriculture & other STEM instructors and IT staff to attend conferences/workshops pertaining to their field of work. In addition, the Project Director and Co Director will work with insular member institutions to ensure the adaptation and integration of Food and Agriculture course(s). PCC's Committee on Program and Curricula (CPC), whose members are composed of faculty and staff representatives from other college divisions, will evaluate these course(s) to determine their applicability and integration into existing programs.ENA (e) Student Experiential Learning- The Project Director and Co-Project Director will work with the Agriculture Science Instructor(s) to identify Second year Agriculture Science students to participate in the field based summer internship, based on a C.G.P.A. of 2.50 and above, and interview results. PCC being one of the insular area member institutions will host the month long field based summer internship. Students from the insular area member institutions that include the University of Guam, Northern Marianas College, College of Micronesia-FSM, College of the Marshall Islands, American Samoa Community College, University of Puerto Rico and University of the Virgin Islands will be participating in the field based summer internship. The summer internship will expose students to an array of agriculture practices, both commercial and subsistence traditional farming. In addition, students will learn about the impact of climate change and adaptation strategies to ensure food security for small island nations. All Agriculture Science students will be eligible for work-study practicum, provided they maintain a C.G.P.A. of 2.00 and above. Project Director will assign work study practicum students and maintain practicum records. Work-study practicum would include students working as peer tutors, research aids, extension aids and assistants for Agriculture Science Program and related fields.ENA (f) Student Recruitment, Retention, and Educational Equity- The Project Director and Co-Project Director will work with the Agriculture Science Instructor(s), and the Dean of Students in carrying out recruitment and retention activities. Recruitment will involve the dissemination of brochures and information about the Agriculture Science Program during scheduled recruitment activities in all the local high schools, and in the PCC New Student Orientations. Academic support/enrichment activities will consists of tutoring and participation in agriculture and STEM related workshops, activities and events. Agriculture Science students that are experiencing difficulties will be identified and referred by the Agriculture Science Instructor(s) to the Learning Resource Center for tutorial services. Tutoring activities will be supervised by the college's Learning Resource Center Instructors. Learning Resource Center Instructors, assisted by peer tutors will provide individual and group tutoring. The Project Director and Project Co-Director will work with the Agriculture Science Instructor(s) to schedule a calendar of academic enrichment activities/events for Agriculture Science students to participate in annually. The Project Director and Project Co-Director will select scholarship recipients based on good academic standing (2.00 C.G.P.A. and above). Information will be requested from the College Registrar for the purpose of identifying scholarship recipients.The Project Director will meet with the Co-Project Director on a monthly basis to go over the activity timetable. At these meetings, any problems encountered will be discussed and needed adjustments will be made.Documentation for teaching/laboratory equipments would include requisitions and invoices. For CariPac Summer Internship(s), documents would include travel documentation and a student internship report at the conclusion of the internship. Work study practicum documentation includes work study contracts and time sheets. Documentation for recruitment of students includes Agriculture Science Program brochures and materials distributed during high school recruitment activities and record of participation in the New Student Orientations. Academic support/enrichment activities documentation includes, tutoring records and activities/events sign in sheets. Documentation for scholarships includes copies of academic transcripts and scholarship checks.To assess this project we will be looking at the number of students enrolling in the Agriculture Science Program, including the numbers for agriculture students maintaining a CGPA of 2.00 and above; students persisting from one academic year to the next; and students graduating with an Associate Degree or Associate of Applied Science.The evaluations of the effectiveness of the project in meeting the overall project impact will be measured against the four (4) project objectives. More specifically, we will ask ourselves the following questions:Have 5% of all incoming PCC students selected Agriculture Science as a major each academic year?Have 70% of all Agriculture Science students maintained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.00 and above each academic year?Have 65% of Agriculture Science students been retained each academic year?Have 80% of Agriculture Science students scheduled to graduate each academic year graduated? All of the above questions have a definite "yes" or "no" answer, and easily determined by calculating the appropriate percentages in each case. Once we determine the answer to each of the above questions, we can effectively evaluate the program activities to see if we have made an effort with Agriculture Science students, achieved performance objectives, and if any change and/or adjustment are needed.An outside evaluator has also been identified, a Mr. James R. Hollyer an Associate Director for Cooperative Extension & Associate Dean and Associate Director for Sea Grant, College of Natural & Applied Sciences, University of Guam. Mr. Hollyer's professional synopsis include Resource and agricultural economist, and program leader with 30 years of experience in agricultural business and infrastructure development, resource valuation, farm food safety coaching, and people and project leadership. Skills include research, instruction, group and project facilitation, computer software, staff leadership, project development and management, and evaluation of domestic and international projects. Mr. Hollyer holds an M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics: Natural Resource Economics from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.