ALEC Department Materials and History

History of Vocational Agriculture in Nebraska

M. G. McCreight — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:23:54 PDT

August 20, 2010 - ALEC Faculty Meeting Minutes

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:01:44 PDT

NIFA Review Report for ALEC Department

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:01:41 PDT

Sept. 17 2010 - Departmental Staff Meeting

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:59:44 PDT

Self Study Review 2010

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:19:26 PST

Teaching-Learning Task Force

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:40:22 PDT

Organized late summer, 2002

What’s happened so far?

Philosophy of Teaching Statement

Paragraph that summarizes (a) student characteristics, (b) educational focus for department, and (c) jobs for which preparing students

Designing new Teaching and Extension Education Specialization Researching on-line instruction guides todevelop an on-line instruction philosophy

Identified a potential research focus area for improving higher education: – Learning communities

AgLEC Graduate Education and Research Committee approved a process to grant CEUs (Continuing Education Units) with the potential for earning graduate credit

Departmental Review: Department of Agricultural Education

Osmund S. Gilbertson — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:35:36 PDT

1. Schedule for Review of Departmental Program

2. Overview of Agricultural Education Department: Functions; Budgets; Where Ag. Ed. Graduates Go; Advisory Council

3. University Administration: UN-L Organization Chart; IANR Administrative Chart

4. Agricultural Education Faculty: Staff and Assignments; Appointments, status and experience; Professional Activities during last two calendar years

5. Instructional Program: Teaching &Advisement; mEnrollment History; Undergraduate Curriculum; Graduate Program; Departmental Self Survey

6. Research and Writing: Project Descriptions; Accomplishments; Planned Objectives; Recent Publications

7. Extension Activities

8. Special Programs: In-Service Education; Curriculum Modification Project

9. Future Directions: Instructional; Research; Extension; Continuing/In-Service

AgLEC Departmental Overview and Review Goals and Objectives

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:09:21 PDT

PowerpPoint presentation (13 slides)

Vision
Mission
Realized through ...
Departmental Organization
Departmental Goals
AgLEC Faculty FTE 1996-1997 vs. 2001-2002
Current and Future Issues

AgLEC Graduate Academic Program

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:01:46 PDT

From a PowerPoint Presentation (27 slides)

Recent Significant Events
Student Credit Hours (Fall Only)
800 Level Student Credit Hours (Fall Only) 1996-2004
900 Level Student Credit Hours (Fall Only) 1996-2004
Graduate Student Credit Hours (Fall Only) 1996-2004
Total Graduate Student Credit Hours (Fall Only)
Master’s Degree Changes
Class Registration/Credit Hours (Fall Semesters) 1998-2004
Current MS, PhD Advisees
Master Degrees Awarded
Doctoral Degrees Awarded
Areas Of Graduate Excellence
Areas Requiring Improvement
Teaching-Learning Task Force

Preliminary Report from the External Review Team

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:37:48 PDT

13 slides (from PowerPoint):
Strengths
Areas of Concern
Immediate and Long-term Opportunities
Threats
Overall Recommendations
Establish/strengthen formal partnerships.
Implement strategic planning.
Build the AgLEC research enterprise.
Establish AgLEC as a vital and valuable unit in IANR.
More fully capture the enrollment growth potential across campus.
Build strong Extension programs.
Capture potential of Ag Journalism program.

AgLEC Lands Honor (Universitywide Departmental Teaching Award)

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:28:22 PDT

Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication will receive the University of Nebraska's highest departmental award for excellence in teaching. Announced April 6, AgLEC (part of the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources) will collect the Universitywide Departmental Teaching Award during an April 30 ceremony in Lincoln. The UDTA recognizes a department within the university that has made a unique and significant contribution to teaching. "AgLEC is a department where the faculty models the very best practices in college teaching and it shows in the results of their students," said John Owens, Vice Chancellor of IANR and NU vice president. "It sort of permeates the entire department that teaching and students are important to each and everyone of these faculty members."

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Comprehensive Review

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:33:27 PDT

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Comprehensive Review

Self-Study Report: 13 AgLEC Departmental Action Plans, 1995-99

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:28:38 PDT

Objectives:

1. Assess specific needs for integrating distance education theory and methods into AgLEC by:
a. identifying target audiences and their educational needs.
b. exploring how distance education can enhance AgLEC’s undergraduate, graduate and outreach education.

2. Help faculty learn about distance education – its curriculum implications, methods, and research needs.

3. Implement distance education in curriculum offerings by using courses (or other programs) developed at other sites, and developing and delivering appropriate courses, degree programs, seminars, and/or workshops for clients in cooperation with other institutions or learning centers, when appropriate.

4. Establish an academic home for distance education in IANR to:
a. develop a curriculum that addresses student and faculty educational needs about distance education.
b. conduct research on distance education processes and evaluation of distance education activities.

5. Implement AgLEC distance education offerings in collaboration with Extension, CIT, ETV, A*DEC, VAE, Continuing Studies, Electronically Serving Nebraskans, and NU production units.

Self-Study Report: 12 AgLEC Departmental Action Plan, 1993-1995

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:18:58 PDT

Objectives:

1)Provide high-quality programs that prepare students for expanded employment opportunities, both traditional and non-traditional, in agricultural production, business, industry, education, and media.

2)Develop new program (major and/or minor) in the study of leadership and communication intended for students interested in careers in leadership and human resource development.

3) Promote and market the department’s courses in technical communication and leadership development across CASNR and in other colleges. Where feasible, make courses more available by offering alternative course meeting times.

4)Foster links with other CASNR departments by developing cooperative or interdisciplinary courses that incorporate instruction in communication, leadership and human resource development (e.g., the Ethics in Agriculture and Natural Resources course).

5) Examine the potential for satellite delivery of AgLEC courses and/or opportunities for training teachers and extension educators in uses and application for distance learning.

6) Conduct department-based secondary school recruiting programs in conjunction with the College’s Recruitment and Placement Office; increase scholarship and internship offerings for all majors.

7) Examine the feasibility of: a) seeking multiple teaching endorsements in applied science and agriculture; b)coordinating teacher education courses with the College of Human Resources and Family Sciences and Trade and Industrial Education; c) offering teacher education through a regional consortium with UNL as the center.

8) Evaluate, in conjunction with the deans of CASNR and the College of Journalism, the future of the Agricultural Journalism major.

Self-Study Report: 11 IANR Strategic Plan

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:08:27 PDT

We anticipate the changes during the next decade which will impact Nebraska food, agricultural and agribusiness industries, the management of natural resources and the quality of life opportunities for our people are expected to exceed those that occurred during the past 50 years. To ensure the programs of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) remain responsive and effective in the future, it is urgent for as to assess our program priorities and operational procedures to strengthen Nebraska’s agricultural and natural resources system. While doing so, we must also prepare students and clientele to make the necessary adjustments to succeed during a period of rapid change and uncertainty.

The intent of this Strategic Plan is to provide IANR with the program and operational directions to move us aggressively and positively into the 21st Century. The issues, problems and opportunities are becoming increasingly complex. IANR cannot be all things for all people. Setting priorities and establishing collaborative partnerships will be essential.

Self-Study Report: 10 Biosketches

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:58:42 PDT

Biosketches

Self-Study Report: 09 Outreach

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:54:19 PDT

Extension outreach activities have been an integral part of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication since its inception in 1992. At the time the department was founded, two faculty members had extension appointments: Bill brown with a .25 FTE extension appointment, primarily associated with the Center for Leadership Development, and Ozzie Gilbertson with a .15 FTE extension appointment, primarily associated with Agricultural Literacy programs. In 1993 Leverne Barrett was assigned a .25 FTE extension appointment, primarily to allow him to work with the Center for Leadership Development and to do staff development for extension personnel and other client groups.

Self-Study Report: 08 Distance Eduation

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:48:26 PDT

The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources' (IANR) 1995 Strategic Plan identifies “implementation of distance education” as one of its three overarching objectives as the university moves into the 21st century. In addition, the Nebraska Network 21 vision statement recognizes distance education as an integral part of Nebraska's future as we develop educational strategies to address learners' needs, both formally in the classroom, as well as informally in the community or the workplace.

The citizens the University of Nebraska serves are requesting that postsecondary education be more responsive to their lifelong learning needs at a price they can afford - in both time and money. Advances in technology have eliminated access issues, making it possible for learners 10 participate in education without leaving town, workplace or even home. This situation positions die Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication (AgLEC) for a broader role in the education of both traditional campus-based students and place-bound adults. In this new role, we can address the needs of learners for the application of theory in the workplace, as well as their demands for practical training in various areas.

Training and retraining will be critical to economic development in light of projections that people can be expected to make eight career changes in their professional lifetimes. The American Society of Training and Development predicts these career changes will result in the need for retraining 75 percent of the workforce by the year 2000. We no longer speak of a national workforce, but a global workforce, one that is affected economically and socially by changes around the world. learners of all age groups, income levels, and backgrounds are coping with economic and social changes through a greater commitment 10 their roles as lifelong learners.

Self-Study Report: 07 Research and Scholarly Activity

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:44:21 PDT

The Department of AgLEC is committed to a strong program of research and scholarly activity, which is complementary to its programs of teaching and outreach. In recognition of this programmatic initiative, as a part of the 1995•1999 strategic planning process, the department created and empowered a separate faculty committee to be exclusively concerned with research and scholarly activity. The Research & Scholarly Activity (R&SA) Committee (which consists of both departmental faculty and members external to the department) assumed duties previously included in the mandates of the departmental Graduate Committee. This action reflected special faculty concern regarding the status of research and scholarly activity in the unit and a commitment to increased attention and productivity.

The purpose of the R&SA Committee is to assist the AgLEC faculty in producing a quality and quantity of research and scholarly activity consistent with its role ill a major research university. In the future, the faculty may find it useful to provide some sort of qualitative assessment of individual research and scholarship efforts similar to assessment done in the department teaching improvement process. Given that the formal R&SA peer review process is relatively new, the faculty has chosen to limit the committee’s commentary to content feedback to proposals submitted by individual faculty members. The committee will make an annual report to the department head as to the extent to which individual faculty members have proposed and produced research and scholarly activity as defined in the committee procedures. The department head will utilize this report when considering the matter of merit pay or other allocations of rewards or assignments.

Self-Study Report: 06 Graduate Academic Programs

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:39:15 PDT

Merging the departments of Agricultural Communications and Agricultural Education provided fresh perspectives on graduate education. While Agricultural Communications had no graduate program, Agricultural Education traditionally offered one graduate program at the masters level largely designed for agricultural educators in Nebraska’s public schools. During the last five years, the program of study leading to the Master of Science degree in Agricultural Education has begun to reflect the changing nature of our clientele, their needs, and new directions.

Candidates for the master of science degree now include greater numbers of those with interests in human resources development who are pursuing careers in agribusiness, cooperative extension, government, or postsecondary teaching. In the past those seeking advanced degrees were predominantly white, male teachers in public school agricultural education. Today, more female, more international , and more racially diverse students are enrolling programs of study in agricultural education.

The foundations of the emerging graduate program lie in the realm of procedural knowledge. Students in the graduate program, working with members of the graduate faculty, are doing advanced study in the processes of leadership, teaching and learning, and communication. We study to discover not only what the processes are, but how to apply theory in actual contexts; evaluate the application; and improve the practices of how we teach and students learn, how we lead, and how we communicate.