Progress 02/15/24 to 02/14/25
Outputs
Target Audience:Outreach efforts continue to be undertaken in partnership with the primary TEC partners, Ranken Technical College and the Lincoln Country RIII MO School district. The target audience consists of secondary level R-III students from Troy, MO, which is located near the Ranken West satellite facility. Additional efforts are made throughout the year to introduce potential students to technical career paths in general and agricultural technology (including aquaponics) in particular. In-person orientation sessions are held upon enrollment. This program represents the culmination of several years of planning between various public and private partners, and this audience was targeted to: Promote alternative technical career paths. Fill industry need in one of Missouri's highest producing agricultural regions. Encourage exploration of emerging agricultural practices and self-employment/entrepreneurial opportunities. In terms of overall demographics, the Lincoln County R-III school district is 92% white (with Black, Hispanic, and other making up the remaining 8%), with 8% of the households below the poverty line and 15% qualifying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Nineteen percent (19%) of all families are single female households (a portion of which are single parents). Five percent (5%) of the district population has not received a high school diploma; 39% are high school graduates, 38% have some college or an associate's (primarily community colleges), and only 18% have a bachelor's degree or higher. Changes/Problems:The unexpected outcome has been the challenge of attracting students to the program. The facility is located in a rural environment where students come from a traditional farming community. Over the past year, the facility's admissions recruiter was replaced, which requires new relationships to be built. Also, the dedicated instructor for the major courses in the Agricultural Engineering Technology program was replaced as well. The new instructor does come with some already established relationships with key personnel inside the local districts. Althought losing an employee can seem like a problem, this instructor was hired because of her relationships and additional experitise in agriculture. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The faculty have participated in trips to to WashMoTower Gardens, Danforth Sceince Center,and Braungardt Ag Services in effort to gain more understanding of the industry. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The department continues to post to social media pages the activities taking place in the program from harvesting fish, students practicing their drone skills, to learning how to use the high-tech greenhouse. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The following is the plan for the final year of the project: 1. Increase Enrollment -- The new instructor continues to utilize her established relationships with high school agriculture faculty in the area. She has already connected these secondary educators with supporting partners/peers to help them understand what is required to prepare students for the more technical approach to agriculture. The goal is to get all agriculture students to the Ranken West location from the four main school districts in the area to engage in hands-on activities. 2) Evolution of the Agricultural Engineering Technology degree program -- Take the feedback from the advisory board to shape the curriculum and expectations as the program evolves. For example, students receive their pesticide application certification and OSHA 10 in the next academic year. The department is currently submitting course changes to include topics such as safety, sanitation, food handling, regenerative ag, genomics, biologicals, and green energy. 3) Reach at least 400 potential participants -- Besides the previously referenced high school visits, the goal is to continue offering courses for community members that introduces them to the setup of an aquaculture system. All parties must be dedicated to continuing to market the program through social media and on-site events to potential students. Marketing and Public relations firm FleishmanHillard has been engaged to assist with the planning, execution, and ongoing maintenance of a multi-channel paid media campaign for the Ranken West location (including spotlights and features around the Agricultural Engineering Technology Program) to include Google Search ads, social media ads, and digital billboard placement. 4) Job Placement for graduates -- Job Placement has already been at 100%. The goal is to gather more employers to attend the job fairs along with providing additional engagement opportunities for the students.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Ranken West location began enrolling students into the TEC program in August 2022. The PI, Co-PI and other staff and faculty participated in the creation of the formal curriculum and recruitment. The Agricultural Engineering Technology Program was approved by the regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, which allowed students to begin the program in August 2022. Three students have now graduated from that program. One of those graduates works at a nearby nursery, another is furthering their education by attending the University of Missouri's Environmental Sciences program with an emphasis in water quality/control, and the other is enrolled at Loyola University majoring in Environmental Sciences and Aquaponics and is currently working for Green Machine in St. Louis as an AmericaCorps VISTA focusing on community outreach. Year three current enrollment at the facility is 57 students, with three dual enrollment students from Troy Buchanan High School (part of Lincoln County R-III district). The Agricultural Engineering Technology Program on campus includes five students. Enrollment has been a challenge, and to address this we have received approval to allow funding to be used toward scholarships to increase enrollment. Ranken continues to look for more pipeline opportunities. Preparing the ecosystem in the aquaponics lab began in Fall 2022, with the Agri-Science course running during the Spring 2022-23 semester. The lab now contains over 600 tilapia, allowing students to grow various leafy greens, flowers, and herbs. Students are able to "earn while you learn," as they receive stipends to work in the lab and maintain the ecosystem to produce both fish and plants after class. Students often sell their produce at local farmer's markets, processed fish for events at the College and the school district and provide produce and fish for the high school culinary arts competitions. The Agricultural Engineering Technology Advisory Board has met to review and identify the current and projected needs of the program. This input was collected noting the program's curriculum is aligned with industry's expectations. Areas where adjustments can be made is to combine the courses "Intro to Agriculture Automation" with the "Agricultural Mechanics" course to allow for more time to cover areas including propagating, genomics, food safety, sanitation, and food handling. The advisory board assisted with organizing a Meet & Greet with the award-winning educator and author of the best-selling book "The Power of a Plant," and Founder of Green Bronx Machining, Stephen Ritz in December 2024 at the College campus bringing more attention to the project. The Ranken West facility holds numerous events each year to reach potential students. The College has held three open house events during 2024, encouraging middle and high school students to visit with their families, as well as adults interested in learning about the certificates and degrees offered. Most recently, Ranken hosted the 2024 Manufacturing Day at the Ranken West campus November 5, 2024, with more than 75 high school students attending and learning about the opportunities the programs at the facility could provide for their future. Attendees were introduced to various employers who had booths on-site. Individual tours were given for all four districts in the county.
Publications
|
Progress 02/15/23 to 02/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Outreach efforts were undertaken jointly by the primary TEC partners, Ranken Technical College and the Lincoln Country R-III MO School district. The target audience consisted of secondary level R-III students from Troy, MO near the new Ranken-West satellite facility. Efforts were made throughout the year to introduce them to technical career paths in general and agricultural technology (including aquaponics) in particular. Both virtual and in-person orientation sessions were held. The program represents the culmination of several years of planning between various public and private partners, and this audience was targeted to a) promote alternative technical career paths b) fill industry need in one of Missouri's highest producing agricultural regions and c) encourage exploration of emerging agricultural practices and self-employment/entrepreneurial opportunities. In terms of overall demographics, the R-III school district is 92% white (with black, Hispanic and other making up the remaining 8%), with 8% of the households below the poverty line and 15% qualifying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 19% of all families are single female households (a portion of which are single parents). 5% of the district population has not received a high school diploma; 39% are HS graduates, 38% have some college or an associate's (primarily community colleges); with only 18% a bachelor's degree or higher. Changes/Problems:With a lack of students in the Agricultural Engineering Technology Program, it was approved to allow funding to assist with student scholarships. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Agricultural Engineering Technology instructordid participate in the Sky-Op training which allowed them to gain more knowledge with operating the unmanned arial vehicles (UAVs). The insturctor also obtained a certification in Precision Argriculture from Purdue University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Ranken provided a full page update on the Agriculture Engineering Technology program rollout in its 2021-2022 Annual report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Ranken plans to continue recruitment efforts for the program, especially with the school district. The program has yet to see their first dual enrollment student. More relationship building opportunities is planned with the agriculture/FFA teachers at the school district. With an increase ofstudents in the program, theinstructor will schedule more participation in farmer market event to increase visibilityin the community selling their produce and fish in the surrounding counties. Social media will be used to capture these events to highlight the products they are selling and the technology used to reduce manual labor along with creating a sustainable operation. The goal is to offer a summer camp for middle school students allowing the students to participate in hand-on activities where students will plant seeds, maintain the greenhouse and fish tanks, along with learning about food safety and how to sell products.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Ranken-West facility began formal enrollment into the TEC program in August 2022. The PI, Co-PI and other staff and faculty participated in the creation of the formal curriculum and recruitment. Year 2current enrollment at the facility is 55students, with only 2dual enrollment student from Troy Buchanan High School. The Agricultural Engineering Technology program contains 9 students. With the program struggling with enrollment, it was approved to allow funding to used toward scholarships to increase enrollment. Although there are 7 additional students in the Agricultrual Engineering Technology program, the College continues to look for more pipeline opportunities. The Agricultural Engineering Technology was approved by the regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, which allowed students to begin the program in August 2022. One student has nowgraduated from that program and is currently employed working in a greenhouse.Preparations to prepare the ecosystem in the aquaponics lab began inFall 2022 with the Agri-Science course running during the Spring 2022-23 semester. The lab now contains over 1,000 talapia that is allowing the students to grow various leafy greens, flowers, and herbs. Current students are able to earn while they learn as they are paid stipends to maintain the ecosystem to produce both fish and plants after class. Students have sold some of their produce at the farmers market, processed fish for events at the College and the school district, along with providing produce and fish for the high school culinary arts competitions. The Ranken-West facility has held various events to reach potential participants. The College has held another three open house events over the year inviting middle and high schools students to visit with their families, along with adults interested in earning the offered certificates and degrees. The College hosted their 2023Manufacturing Day event at the facility having over 150 high school students onsite to expose students to the opportunities the programs at the facility could provide for their future, along with access to various employers on-site sharing the career opportunities available. The Lincoln County R-III school district included the Ranken-West facility as part of teacher orientation in the district to ensure teachers recognize the facility is part of their disctrict with the goal of promoting the pathway of the agricultrual engineering technology degree.
Publications
|
Progress 02/15/22 to 02/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Outreach efforts were undertaken jointly by the primary TEC partners, Ranken Technical College and the Lincoln Country R-III MO School district. The target audience consisted of secondary level R-III students from Troy, MO near the new Ranken-West satellite facility. Efforts were made throughout the year to introduce them to technical career paths in general and agricultural technology (including aquaponics) in particular. Both virtual and in-person orientation sessions were held. The program represents the culmination of several years of planning between various public and private partners, and this audience was targeted to a) promote alternative technical career paths b) fill industry need in one of Missouri's highest producing agricultural regions and c) encourage exploration of emerging agricultural practices and self-employment/entrepreneurial opportunities. In terms of overall demographics, the R-III school district is 92% white (with black, Hispanic and other making up the remaining 8%), with 8% of the households below the poverty line and 15% qualifying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 19% of all families are single female households (a portion of which are single parents). 5% of the district population has not received a high school diploma; 39% are HS graduates, 38% have some college or an associate's (primarily community colleges); with only 18% a bachelor's degree or higher. Changes/Problems:As stated previously, there were some delays in construction due to intermittent shortages of labor/materials. These factors resulted in full operations delayed to the second program year. With the aquaponics lab requiring careful installation and connection of precise water/wastewater systems the lab was not complete until summer 2022. With less COVID-19 restrictions in 2022-2023, it is anticipated there will be increased recruitment activities resulting in higher enrollment for the upcoming academic year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The FT instructor for the Agricultural Engineering Technology program has received aquaponics training which has allowed him to prepare the ecosystem to support live fish and plants. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The College has opened the doors to various groups for tours and updates on the impact the facility has had on the community. Coordinated events were provided for the Troy Chamber or Commerce, the St. Charles County Commercial Real Estate Associate, Lincoln County Rotary Club, and the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, additional recruitment efforts will be made to increase the number of dual enrollment students not only from the Lincoln Country R-III School district, but other districts in the nearby counties. Tours will be coordinated for area high school students. The innovative aquaponics lab will play a role in STEM learning activities, including a Summer Adventure Academy will be offered in summer 2023 to area middle school students. A formal advisory board meeting will be held to refine the Agricultural Engineering Technology curriculum to incorporate feedback from industry. Graduates will be surveyed to acquire feedback on the Agricultural Engineering Technology program to help guide curriculum efforts and ensure completion of the degree leads to employment in their career field.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Ranken-West facility began formal enrollment into the TEC program in August 2022. The PI, Co-PI and other staff and faculty participated in the creation of the formal curriculum and recruitment. Year 1 current enrollment at the facility is 25 students, with only 1 dual enrollment student from Troy Buchanan High School. The Agricultural Engineering Technology program contains 2 students. Following a year where recruitment efforts were hindered by COVID-19 restrictions in schools, the College anticipated a low enrollment for the first year. The Agricultural Engineering Technology was approved by the regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, which allowed students to begin the program in August 2022. Students have only completed 25% of the their program. Preparations to prepare the ecosystem in the aquaponics lab began in the Fall with the Agri-Science course running during the Spring 2022-23 semester. Fish and plants are currently growing. Current students are able to earn while they learn as they learn to maintain the ecosystem to produce both fish and plants. The Ranken-West facility has held various events to reach potential participants. The College has held a total of three open house events inviting middle and high schools students to visit with their families, along with adults interested in earning the offered certificates and degrees. The College hosted their 2022 Manufacturing Day event at the facility having over 150 high school students onsite to expose students to the opportunities the programs at the facility could provide for their future, along with access to various employers on-site sharing the career opportunities available. The Lincoln County R-III superintendent invited all nearby district superintendents with their high school counselors to learn about dual enrollment opportunities for their students. Although the TEC program has no graduates yet, over 75% of the current students already have acquired part-time employment in their chosen career field.
Publications
|
Progress 02/15/21 to 02/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:In this reporting period, outreach efforts were undertaken jointly by the primary TEC partners - Ranken Technical College and the R-III Lincoln County, MO school district. The target audience consisted of secondary level R-III students in Troy, MO near the new Ranken-West satellite facility. Efforts were made throughout the yearto introduce them to technical career paths in general and agricultural technology (inlcuding aquaponics) in particular. Both virtual and in-person orientation sessions were held. The program represents the culmination of several years of planning between various public and private partners, and this audience was targeted to a) promote alternative technical career paths b) fill industry need in one of Missouri's highest-producing agricultural regions and c) encourage exploration of emerging agricultural practices and self-employment/enterpreneurial opportunities. In terms of overall demographics, the R-III school district is 92% white (with black, hispanic and other making up the remaining 8%), with 8% of households below the poverty line and 15% qualifying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 19% of all families are single female households (a portion of which are single mothers). 5% of the district population has not recieved a high school diploma; 39% are HS graduates; 38% have some college or an associate's (primarily community colleges); with only 18% a bachelor's degree or higher. Changes/Problems:Regarding the Ranken-West educational facility that houses the TEC program, there were some delays in construction due to intermittent shortages of labor/materials. NIFA's generous support is greatly appreciated, however the period of performance had a start date earlier than anticipated. Together these factorsresulted in a first program year in which the program facility was not available or fully operational. Aquaponics in particular, requires careful installation and connection of precise water/wastewater systems, a process currently underway but expected to be complete in the summer of 2022. Covid-related restrictions continued for most of the first program year. This prevented subtantial gatherings that could facilitate recruitment (e.g. in auditoriums, bus tours, public equipment demonstrations). However, it is anticipated that such activities will be held in subsequent program years. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The ultimate beneficiaries of the TEC program will be industry partners and employers. A special effort has been made to connect with them as the building was completed and they donated over $350,000 to a new Ranken-West Endowed Scholarship Fund. In recognition of their support, several industry partners have been recognized in the new facility including Silver Fin Solutions, a leader in invasive carp removal and wildlife management. A new partnership has emerged with Yield Lab, an international group that supports innovation in agricultural and food systems by connecting, aligning and educating agtech and agriculture stakeholders. Representatives from Yield Lab are looking for ways to create standards and industry certifications for agricultural engineering and technology, have toured the Ranken-West facility housing TEC, and are eager to provide input into the program and curriculum as it evolves. Innovative organizations such as these areideal resources/employers for future TEC graduates; the project team is very excited to have such connections. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period,formal dual enrollment of the first group of R-III high school students should take place, allowing them to earn college credit towards an accelerated degree while they finish their secondary education. By then, the Aquaponics Lab will be fully operational, integrated into the TEC program, and ready to provide paid work experiences/stipends to students. If possible, the FT instructor will receiveaquaponics training in 2022, ensuring that he is fully versed with the system being installed. Outreach efforts and tours of the Aquaponics Lab at Ranken-West will take place, reaching more students in Troy and in other R-III district schools. This innovative Lab will also play a role in various informal STEM learning activities, including but not limited to a Summer Adventure Academy in 2023 (cross-partner planning to take place in the next period). The existing Agricultural Tech curriculum will be refined based on feedback from students and faculty. The next reporting period will also see a formative evaluation tool by the contracted program evaluator, Outcomes Consulting Services. Within the next reporting period, Co-PI Dr. Griener with the Lincoln County school district will be stationed at the Ranken-West facility. He will thus be able to both directly supervise TEC and other dual enrollment programs, and build additional partnerships.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
|
|