Progress 03/01/23 to 02/29/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Fifteen students enrolled in the BioAg PRO program during Year 3. Seven of these students had a high school diploma or equivalent, and eight students had bachelor's degrees or higher. 53% of the students were female and 47% were male. The age range of students varied from early 20's to greater than 50 years. The geographical reach of the program has far exceeded our expectations with students from Wilmington. NC to Gibsonville, NC successfully completing the requirements. Though we do not have formal survey data, it appears that current income levels of students vary from <$20,000 (full-time students) to <$100,000. These statistics were encouraging and demonstrate that BioAg PROis attracting a diverse student base beyond the original target audience of high school graduates with no college experience. Changes/Problems:Problem #1: Total student enrollment is projected at 75% of target. Our plans to address this problem in Year 4 are: 1) To engage a marketing firm to amplify communication on our program to target demographics, and 2) Partner with additional community college(s) to leverage their student populations, counselor networks, and communication resources. Problem #2: Challenges with scheduling internships. During the previous year we struggled to align timing constraints between our students and the employers/hosts when scheduling the 160-hour internships. When scheduling a Work Based Learning course to coincide with an internship, we were limited to a maximum of about 13 weeks. Quite often this amount of time was not sufficient for students to complete the needed hours when they were employed full-time with another company (for income). To solve this issue, we discussed all the options with Durham Tech's Work Based Learning team and agreed that Global Ag and the BioAg PRO management team handle these work experiences independently of a Work based Learning course enrollment requirement. We have almost completed the first such arrangement and it is working very well. Problem #3: Upcoming changes in the BioAg PRO management team. Changes to the management team that will or are likely to take place in the upcoming year, and risk mitigation strategies, are: 1) A new instructor, Stephanie Hollifield, will begin her role starting with the fourth cohort. Stephanie has high school teaching experience, ag and horticultural experience, and is fully qualified, and the former instructor Hannah Lynch will remain on the management team 2) The current internship coordinator, Kelly Chapman, will transition to a new role outside of Global Ag and the impact on her role with BioAg PRO is not known. John Salmeron and Dr. Jeanine Davis will be able to assist Hannah Lynch with the internship management. We will also hire new members into the team if the need arises; 3) Partnership with additional community colleges will require resources from the management team to ensure smooth transitions into the program. We will again assess the need for hiring additional resources and do so if required. Regular team meetings, and improved methods for communication/visibility of action items, assignments, and timelines have been implemented to further improve our operational efficiency. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of sixteen students have received basic training in work practices, plant biology and horticulture from the BioAg PRO program. All these students have received a North Carolina Pesticide Applicators License, qualifying them for specific jobs in the industry. Eleven students have completed their 160-hour paid internships at a company matching their professional interests, providing them with practical education that can highlight on their resumes. Six students have been offered permanent jobs in the industry. The management team has improved our understanding of the NC Community College System, the requirements for implementing an online course, and the challenges and opportunities associated with marketing educational opportunities. Hannah Lynch has gained experience in project management, the use and management of Sakai and Canva online learning management systems (LMS), and implementation of website and social media sites/campaigns. We were privileged to have the guidance (time) of Laura Schuchart of OerthBio, the communications director for OerthBio. Laura offered informal training and consultancy to Hannah to improve our existing website (www.BioAgPRO.org). Kelly Chapman and John Salmeron gained grant writing and management experience since this was their first USDA-NIFA grant experience. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We created and we continue to enhance the BioAg PRO website. This was constructed to reach a population that we were not reaching through the DTCC website. Announcements on BioAg PRO student activities and accomplishments are posted to LinkedIn and Facebook. Local organizations such as NC Biotech and Durham Tech communicate on BioAg PRO and announce upcoming enrollment periods. We have actively engaged in direct communication with many organizations linked to education and agriculture including Juntos, Made In Durham, the NC State Plant Sciences Initiative (Terri Long), Duke Gardens, the NC Cooperative Extension, and we are working to reach other similar organizations. The program is gaining traction with other nearby community colleges. We are in discussions with Central Carolina Community College, who has strong interest to implement the program in the Harnett County (NC) school system, and with Wake Technical Community College, who is interested offering BioAg PRO as a component of their new ag biotechnology training program. We interpret these interests as positive signs that stakeholder groups are hearing about BioAg PRO and see it as an attractive program for their student constituencies. In the coming year we hope to leverage Dr. Jeanine Davis and her connections throughout NC, the Cooperative Extension network, and the horticulture industry. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The program is short of its goal of 40 trained students, though enrollment has been up recently and we project training at least 30 students. We have identified potential marketing shortfalls and new target populations and we are increasing our marketing efforts to increase and diversify the participation in this program (see Box #3 above). We are advertising on social media and are considering consulting proposals from marketing firms to improve our visibility and sharpen our advertising to the most promising target demographics. We hope to extend the list of partners/host companies for our internship program, which in turn magnifies our footprint in the industry. We would like to involve the First Flight Venture Center, NC Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development leadership, NC Bio organization, and the Carolina Farm Stewardship organization. We also hope to attend more industry events to promote the program. As stated above, we will undertake a formal evaluation of the program's performance in the second half of Year 4, as planned in Objective 4. Again we hope to leverage the experience of Dr. Jeanine Davis.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Refine the design of the BioAg PRO program curriculum in consultation with industry stakeholders, to meet entry-level agricultural workforce development needs for high school graduates. Industry stakeholders were interviewed during Year 1 and modifications to the curriculum were implemented in response to input received. For example, teaching the principles of genetics was added. In response to COVID condition prevalent in Year 1, the BioAg PRO Technologies course was reformulated to allow the students to complete over 90% of the coursework remotely, resulting in greater flexibility and cost savings. Our team has continued to improve an at-home plant growth kit to increase the positive impact for students. There have been many positive comments from students related to these in-home plant growth opportunities. In Year 3 we began a discussion platform for students to interact with respect to their plant growing experience, in response to student feedback. We receive ongoing feedback from the supervisors at each host organization during the internships. This feedback has been reviewed and we have implemented changes to enhance the program. One example of this is related to soft skills and resume quality for our students/interns. In response to feedback from multiple internship supervisors, we incorporated the support of Dr. Lynn Tovar of Durham Tech to improve these skills for our students. Objective 2. Assemble the operational framework to deliver the BioAg PRO curriculum. John Salmeron and Kelly Chapman continued as Program Director and Internship Coordinator, respectively. Telicia Hunter continued as the Curriculum Director, representing Durham Technical Community College. Hannah Lynch continued her role in Instruction and Curriculum Developmen for the Year 3 student cohorts. Hannah also provided leadership for upgrading marketing activities related to the website, our social media opportunities, and interfacing with the Communications department of a major agtech company, Oerth Bio. In anticipation of her transition out of the Instructor role in Year 4, Stephanie Hollifield was brought on as an Administrative Assistant to familiarize her with the program. Stephanie will assume the Instructor role in Year 4. Hannah Lynch and Telicia Hunter worked closely in Year 3 to transition the curriculum and course delivery to a new Learning Management System, Canva. The extraordinary efforts by both team members resulted in few to no implementation issues for Cohort 3 as the first users of the new system. As a part of Global Ag's role, Hannah and Kelly have managed the implementation of the budget, supply chain management, supplier payments, internship payroll and documentation (initial and tax related documents, timesheets, etc.). We successfully operated for the past three years under budget. Objective 3. Administer a two-year pilot of the BioAg PRO workforce training curriculum. Based on the completion of three cohorts between the Fall of 2022 and the present, we have successfully executed 2 years of the pilot program as originally outlined in our grant application. Due to a healthy financial situation, in part brought about by conversion to remote delivery, the BioAg program requested and was granted by NIFA a 12-month no-cost extension, setting a new performance period end date of 2/28/2025. The second cohort of eight BioAg PRO students was enrolled in the spring of 2023. Five of these students completed the program and received certificates upon graduation. A third cohort of seven students was enrolled in the fall of 2023; six of these students have completed the coursework and are currently either in internships or in the process of being placed in internships. The completion rates of these student cohorts, 62.5% for cohort 2 and 86% for cohort 3, are significant improvements to the 40% completion rate for cohort 1, and higher than the target Durham Tech completion rate of 60%. The Pesticide Licensure rate was 100%. These results suggest that the actions taken by program instructors to reduce student attrition, as reported in the Year 2 progress report, have been effective. Most of the non-completers either lack computer skills for the online coursework or they cannot fit the internship into their normal work schedule. We are continuing to identify opportunities for working outside of normal business hours to alleviate this limitation. A fourth cohort of six students is being enrolled for a March 2024 start date. While the overall numbers are pointing toward graduation of about 30 students during the entire program, or ten fewer than the original goal, it is encouraging to see the numbers of students per cohort increasing year over year. Based on conversations with other community college program managers/leaders, we are tracking above the enrollment levels for many other new/pilot programs. In addition to student success and implementation, in Year 3 we extended our industry relationships and internship opportunities. Our students were able to tour businesses in the RTP area. We added 7 new internship host companies, and we are in discussions with 4 more. In addition to the daily administration, our team has been able to maintain the flexibility necessary to cover the unexpected roles and responsibilities and to pivot as needed quickly and efficiently during the implementation of this program. Objective 4. Evaluate BioAg PRO curriculum performance and develop recommendations for its future implementation and adjustments to curriculum. In the summer of 2024 and following completion of the fourth cohort, we will begin the evaluation of the program's performance and develop recommendations for BioAg PRO's future. Alternatives include applying to NIFA for continued funding, implementation at community colleges as a tuition-supported program, or wind down of the curriculum. Processes are already in place to get feedback from the students. We have continually assessed the number of hours the students spend on coursework. We have surveys completed by every student cohort. We have conducted discussions at every last in-person day to gather feedback and then we try to use that to improve the program. Changes have included more tours, the changes in the management of the internships, changes to electronic time sheets, including communication between cohorts and implementing improved documents for the intern host businesses.
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Progress 03/01/22 to 02/28/23
Outputs
Target Audience:BioAg PRO serves individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent, or higher credentials, who are interested in careers in agriculture or the plant sciences. BioAg PRO is particularly suited for persons who wish to enter this industry without investing in more lenghty educational program such as traditional 2- or 4-year university programs. Additionally, BioAg PRO serves local and national companies in agriculture-related businesses by providing a pool of workers trained for entry level positions in the plant sciences. Our target audience is tailored for thoselooking for industry-relevant, fundamental training at low cost and with flexible study hours. Changes/Problems:Problem #1: 60% student attrition rate for BioAg PRO cohort 1. Several actions are being taken by the cours instructor to reduce the attrition rate experienced in stdent cohort 1. Constant group and individual email communication providing support/reminders about assignments, grades, and participation. Office hours with time for students to ask direct questions and conversation about course assignments Weekly announcements and emails with reminders of assignments in teaching program (Sakai) Student surveys to get student feedback on course rigor and student interest Students in cohort 3 are generally demonstrating higher levels of engagement, which has been encouraging. Problem #2: Student enrollment rates lagging behind pace needed to train 40 students. To improve student recruitment, we have or will reach out to many groups that interface with those potentially interested in BioAg PRO. These groups include: Vertical farming organizations Local community farms 4H and FFA Support programs for disadvantaged youth Jobfinding resource centers Homeschooling groups NC Plant Science Initiative Outreach Program Also being pursued is most active presence on social media frequented by young adults. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?BioAg PRO provides students with a 160-hour paid internship at a company matching their professional interests. Three of the four students in cohort 1 completed their internships, and the fourth will complete his in the spring of 2023. One intern has been hired into a long-term assignment at her host company, and a second student was offered a job at her host company but opted for a different job in the industry, and a third student has decided to pursue additional training and advanced studies. Following course completion, the BioAg PRO management team supports students in resume development, identifying target employers, and interviewing skills on an ongoing basis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Updates on BioAg PRO student activities, field trips,internships, and post-program employment have been regularly posted to LinkedIn. For example, a graduate was recently highlighted: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7024786345873072129?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7024786345873072129%29 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. We will complete Cohort 3 during the summer of 2023. Assuming the six enrolled students finish the program, BioAg PRO will have graduated ten students. 2. We are planning to launch Cohorts 4 and 5 in the summer and late fall of 2023, aiming for ten students per cohort. 3. We are increasing our effort at student recruitment, by targeting agriculture-related organizations (e.g. community farms), homeschooling groups, and social media.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Refine the design of the BioAg PRO program curriculum in consultation with industry stakeholders, to meet entry level agricultural workforce development needs for high school graduates. BioAg PRO Technologies course was reformulated to allow the students to complete over 90% of the coursework remotely. Objective 2. Assemble the operational framework to deliver the BioAg PRO curriculum. Due to organizational changes at Durham Technical Community College, Telicia Hunter replaced Ingrid Charles as Curriculum Director and Co-Project Director. Other senior personnel remain unchanged. Removal of COVID-mandated restrictions now allows for students to participate in in-person company tours, which have been scheduled.Lifting of spacing requirements allowed for larger class sizes at Durham Tech. Objective 3. Administer a two-year pilot of the BioAg PRO workforce training curriculum. BioAg PRO graduated its first cohort of students in the summer of 2022. Ten students were initially enrolled in the first cohort, and four students completed the program. While the attrition rate was higher than preferred, it was not very different from Durham Tech's target of a 60% or higher successful student completion rate. Graduation of the first four students was a significant milestone for the BioAg PRO program. Three of the four students have found jobs in the industry, which comes close to meets Durham Tech's target of 80% of students obtaining jobs after program completion. While five students initially enrolled for the second cohort, attrition before the start of classes forced us to cancel the program for the fall of 2022. BioAg PRO cohort 3 was recruited in the fall of 2022, and eight students were initially enrolled. Classes commenced in January of 2023 and six students are attending. Objective 4. Evaluate BioAg PRO curriculum performance and develop recommendations for its future implementation and adjustments to curriculum. To make up for the shortfall in student enrollment compared with projections, increased effort has been made to market BioAg PRO to diverse target groups. Groups we have approached, conducted informational sessions, and advertised to include local high schools, homeschooling organizations, 4-H, regional community colleges, and social media outlets.
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Progress 03/01/21 to 02/28/22
Outputs
Target Audience:BioAg PRO serves high school graduates who are interested in careers in agriculture or the plant sciences. Additionally, BioAg PRO serves local and national companies in agriculture-related businesses by providing basic training for entry level employees in plant science related positions. Our target audience has completed a high school diploma (or an equivalent) and has interest in a short-term, low cost, basic training program. Changes/Problems:No students taking BioWork - a course designed for students entering the biophama industry and formerly a pre-requesite for BioAg Technology - either in the fall of 2021 or earlier, were interested in enrolleing in BioAg PRO, and due to these delays in recruitment, the start date for the first instance of the BioAg Technologies course was moved from February 2022 to April 2022. As a result of these changes, the Year 1 budgeted amounts for instructor and lab technician were redirected. We realized that more time was required for the development and implementation of the curriculum than had been budgeted, and those funds were used for that purpose. Additionally, we needed to develop a remote/online format for the BioAg Technology course, to manage the situation with COVID. This was accomplished and it required use of some of the redirected funds. Recently we figured out a way to replace the BioWork pre-requisite with a much shorter pre-requisite without sacrificing useful content. We are gaining traction with the abbreviated program and have four students preparing to enrol. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Hannah Lynch attended North Carolina State University's Pesticide Training School and took the Pesticide Licensure Exam to be given to BioAg PRO students. Hannah also participated in a Greenhouse Management course from The Ohio State University focusing on Integrated Pest Management in controlled environment agriculture. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We announced the launch of the BioAg PRO program regionally through a collaboration with BioNetwork, a biotech informational bulletin board. We also wrote and published a news story featured in local publications. Marketing efforts for student recruitment have been launched; these included production of an informational flyer, an informational video, setting up LinkedIn campaigns, and informational meetings with local high school counselors and career development groups. Online information sessions for interested students have been held at least twice per month. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We would like to complete two cycles of the BioAg PRO program, graduating at least 16 students. We would like to complete an evaluation of the program following each cycle. We are happy to report that in the week prior to this submission, we've recruited four students for our April cohort and are continuing to reach more candidates. To access more students and facilitate recruitment, we would like to get the BioAg Technology course approved by the local high school systems and listed in their course catalogs. We plan to reconnect with industry stakeholders to position students for successful internships, including the horticultural industry through our consultant Dr. Jeanine Davis. We will solidify our relationships with such as the NC BioNetwork, NC Biotech Center, Research Triangle Regional Partnership, NC Future Farmers of America to expand our marketing presence and recruit more students.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1. Refine the design of the BioAg PRO program curriculum in consultation with industry stakeholders, to meet entry level agricultural workforce development needs for high school graduates. Upon receiving program funding, our team reached out to industry stakeholder companies for feedback on our proposed curriculum. We received industry recommendations to include specific content. As one example, we were encouraged to teach students about traits currently available in the market for major crops, as a part of the pest control module. We finalized a set of seven instructional modules for the BioAg Technology course, which incorporated this industry feedback. During the feedback process, we were impressed by the level of enthusiasm expressed by industry stakeholders for BioAg PRO. Administrative activities to formally list the courses in the DTCC catalog were successfully completed. This included creating course descriptions for BioAg Technology and BioAg Work-Based Learning, gaining approval for the courses from DTCC administrators, and completing the IT work to post the courses and enrollment mechanisms on the DTCC website. A list of example roles in the industry that BioAg PRO graduates could qualify for, along with pay ranges, was compiled and posted. Objective 2. Assemble the operational framework to deliver the BioAg PRO curriculum. Hannah Lynch was hired as the instructor for the BioAg Technology course. Hannah will also fill the lab instructor role for BioAg PRO courses. Her onboarding training was completed as required by DTCC. To manage the COVID situation, the BioAg Technology curriculum was completely redesigned to allow for remote delivery, including take-home laboratory exercises. The take-home kits were purchased and assembled and are ready for use. The BioAg Technology curriculum was uploaded to DTCC's online database, and the curriculum was installed on the Sakai virtual delivery platform. Textbooks were purchased from NC State University for the pest control course module, as these have been well vetted by the industry and they follow both the NCSU Pesticide Training Modules and the NC Department of Agriculture Licensure Testing Program. Purchases of supplies and a controlled environment agriculture unit were investigated but were not carried through due to COVID. The team is investigating the use of existing DTCC building space for a future controlled environment lab. Objective 3. Administer a two-year pilot of the BioAg PRO workforce training curriculum. Marketing campaigns for student recruitment were launched, with details provided in Box 3. We partnered with BioNetwork, a regional information distribution organization for the biotechnology industry, We conducted information sessions to reach many local high school system career counselors, career and technical education leaders for area school systems, the NC FFA and ag teacher association, published a news articlein local outlets., We have held online information sessions for prospective students 1-2 times per month, and contacted all state community colleges offering the BioWork course to increase awareness of this new BioAg PRO opportunity. We developed a flyer and video for BioAg PRO and distributed these to stakeholders and posted them on multiple media outlets: the BioAg PRO LinkedIn page, NC Extension Webpage and NC Extension social media. DTCC rules require eight students to launch the first cohort. Based on limited student recruitment success, we pushed the start date for the first instance of the BioAg Technology course from February 2 to April 20, 2022. To facilitate recruitment and improve the efficiency of the program, we shortened the duration of one iteration (one cohort) of the program from 40 weeks to 22 weeks without affecting training efficiency. Upon further review, the team decided that a DTCC course entitled "GMP and SOP" could replace the BioWork prerequisite without sacrificing needed skills. As we analyzed options for the program, we agreed that BioWork could be substituted for the GMP and SOP requirement (for greater student accessibility to the program) for interested students who already have completed BioWork from any NC community college. During this process we also agreed that because we integrated critical math and safety skill activities into the BioAg Technologies curriculum, students would have the option of completing the co-requisite, GMP and SOP, before or after taking BioAg PRO (the skills are complementary but no longer pre-requisite). These changes remove barriers that impeded participation of interested students in earlier months of this program. We are redoubling efforts to recruit active BioWork and high school students and reaching out to other NC community colleges that offer BioWork and/or GMP and SOP.We have also discussed the opportunity to market this program for internal training needs at ag-related companies in scope for this program. We are happy to report that in the week before this annual report submission, we've recruited four students for our April cohort and are continuing to reach more candidates. Objective 4. Evaluate BioAg PRO curriculum performance and develop recommendations for its future implementation and adjustments to curriculum. Nothing to report
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