Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Consortium members face the same challenges as other insular areas, such as high communications costs, limited resources, diseconomies of scale, limited infrastructure, and lack of skilled labor (Briguglio, 1995; Lewis & Airey, 2001; SIDS Network, 2003; Adrianto & Matsuda, 2004; Koonjul, 2004; Reddy, Mohanty, & Naidu, 2004; Baldacchino, 2006). Therefore, by having access to distance education resources consortium members can reduce the impact of these challenges on not only the agriculture industry but on their local economies as well. Distance learning by its very nature requires innovative strategies to overcome challenges and afford opportunities to those that may not otherwise have the chance to take advantage of academic opportunities. The focus of this proposal is distance education for programs related to agriculture and food science. The consortium recognizes that "agriculture" has many facets and crosses into many disciplines. The concept of distance learning would serve the needs of consortium members not only in the field of agriculture but in other disciplines as well; thus not only impacting the agricultural industry of consortium members but other industries such as nursing, life sciences, marine sciences, etc.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The goals of CariPac are to harness research and education to help address local food, agricultural, and environmental needs; support local economic growth; and to prepare students to achieve their own personal career goals. To do this, CariPac is striving to help meet workplace needs through increasing the quality of undergraduate instruction, by developing new methods for delivering instruction, modernizing instructional technologies and methodologies; updating courses and improving disciplinary students' analytical interpersonal, leadership, communications, problem-solving, computational, and decision-making skills and abilities. One major objective of the CariPac Consortium DEG Phase II will be to begin the construction of a long-term strategic plan for distance education that will included specific objectives that are consistent with each of the eight institutions. This will allow us to build even greater linkages among the Insular Area Institutions that will have a significant, demonstrable commitment to higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences. Our DEG program goals are (1) to increase the number and diversity of students who will pursue and complete a 2- or 4- year postsecondary degree in the food and agricultural sciences, and to encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the five NIFA Priority Areas; and (2) to enhance the quality of postsecondary education in order to help meet current and future national food and agricultural sciences workplace needs.
Project Methods
The Consortium grant has numerous products, results and measurable outcomes, for more detailed information please see individual sub-grantee narratives. An assessment consultant will be hired to correspond directly with each of the consortium institutions and help them evaluate their proposed outcomes. Each sub-grantee has outlined their specific evaluation plans (see individual proposals). Each sub-grantee will be provided an evaluation template that will include a column to produce listed objectives/activities, the metrics they will use to measure the anticipated outcomes, and finally - the predicted indicators. Each of the listed objectives must fall under one of the DEG Program Goals (1) To increase the number and diversity of students who will pursue and complete a 2- or 4- year postsecondary degree in the food and agricultural sciences, and for FY 2011, encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the five NIFA Priority Areas; and (2) To enhance the quality of postsecondary instruction in order to help meet current and future national food and agricultural sciences workplace needs. The evaluation template will be provided to each of the Co-PI's at the beginning of the project. At mid-year, the assessment coordinator or the PI will request an update on each objective or activity. At the end of the year all evaluation templates will be turned into the Assessment Coordinator and they will write a written report and summarize all assessment activities for the year and then disseminate this report to the PI and all Co-PI's.