Degree based on life experience

Abstract

This paper describes the efforts of the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to build undergraduate degree programs at off-campus sites. The principle objective of the paper is to provide experience-based observations and recommendations to institutions considering or planning to launch off-campus degree programs. Attention is also given to the background and development of these statewide partnership programs. The recommendations and observations are based upon the experiences accrued as a consequence of developing six offcampus baccalaureate degree-granting programs. This paper is designed to share the lessons learned in the hope that other institutions intending to build programs such as ours will benefit. Development of these off-campus programs allows UF to improve the accessibility to some of its educational programs by taking the State's land grant University to the people.

Introduction

Over the past decade, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (UF-IFAS-CALS) has worked aggressively to build undergraduate degree programs at off-campus sites. Today, we offer full Bachelor of Science degrees in partnership with local institutions, at six locations beyond our central Gainesville campus. The initiation, development, and processes used to establish these programs have been described in the literature (Comer et al., 1996; Duke et al., 1994; Klock-Moore et al, 2000; Linehan et al., 2000; Tignor, et al., 2002; and Verkade and Fitzpatrick, 1989).

A great deal has been written, in recent years, on approaches, strategies and challenges of offering distance education degrees. Rumble (1986) offers a comprehensive overview of the philosophy of and models for distance education. Along with a discussion of the pedagogy of teaching from distance sites, he addressed economic, political, staffing, organizational, fiscal and administrative issues. A similar, more recent, treatment of distance education opportunities and challenges is offered by Barry Birnbaum (2001). However, most of the current literature focuses on delivery of coursework and degree programs to off-campus sites via technology. The UF-IFAS-CALS' distance education model utilized technology to augment on-site teaching/learning capacity. In 1998, TeIg and Cheek wrote about the development and implementation of distance education in CALS to support these off-campus distance education degree programs. Sandy Wilson and Mac Thetford co-taught a distance education course from two different locations in Florida using interactive video and web-supported instruction. They also taught "face to face" to students at the two originating sites. The results of their experiences are documented in an article appearing in HortTechnology (Wilson and Thetford, 2003).

As we've implemented these educational programs we've experienced successes, encountered problems and made a few mistakes. This short paper intends to share the lessons learned from our experience in the hope that other institutions intent on building programs such as ours will benefit.

Background

In an attempt to serve time- and place-bound students, UF-IFAS-CALS has developed "state-wide partnership" baccalaureate degree programs at several sites around Florida. These off-campus programs are partnerships in the true sense of the word in that they are offered in conjunction with a local community college and another public four-year institution. At each site, the community college offers freshman and sophomore level general education, basic prerequisite course work, and an associate of arts (AA) degree. CALS has a tradition of working closely with community college students to ensure a smooth transfer to the University of Florida. The CALS Transfer Manual communicates the specific courses that must be completed at community colleges prior to transfer to our off-campus and oncampus programs. It may be accessed at the CALS web site at www.cals.ufl.edu by clicking on Prospective Students. The partner four-year institution provides the electives and upper division courses not specifically related to the major. The major specific courses are then taught by UF-IFAS-CALS faculty. In most instances, the UF-IFAS-CALS faculty is located at one of our UF-IFAS Research and Education Centers (REC). In some cases, courses are made available through distance delivery. Table 1 shows the locations, partners and majors for each of our off campus programs. The table also indicates the number of students enrolled in Fall, 2003.

On balance our partnership degree programs are remarkably successful. The partner institutions have been consistently cooperative and responsive. Community leaders at each site have worked to promote our programs and recruit students. As a consequence, the programs have attracted academically strong, mature, motivated students. While most work and/or have family responsibilities, they fully engage in all aspects of a university education.

Graduates from our partnership programs are regarded in the job market or by graduate programs as co-equal with those who graduate from Gainesville campus-based programs. all reports suggest the partnership program graduates have succeeded in their graduate programs and are succeeding in their careers and communities.

One special case deserves mention. A student who completed our undergraduate program at Ft. Lauderdale, went on to earn a doctorate at Yale University and has since joined our Ft. Lauderdale faculty. Still-, the successes we've experienced have come with a few set backs and have yielded a number of lessons.

Results and Discussion

Based on experiences at UF-IFAS-CALS, we offer the following observations and recommendations to institutions considering or planning to launch off-campus degree programs.

1. Find committed, adaptable partners. The quality, responsiveness and cost effectiveness of offcampus programs depend heavily on the strength and cooperation of the partners. There must be a willingness to modify courses to meet the needs of students in the off-campus majors. This may involve modifications to course curricula, offering additional sections of some courses and adjusting the course offerings to fit the schedules of non-traditional students. In some cases, our partners provide office space, facilities and support for UF-IFAS-CALS faculty.

2. Ensure the availability of high quality technology. Because some courses are offered via distance delivery it is essential that dependable technology be in place. Also, competent technological support personnel must be available. A breakdown in distance delivery technology costs valuable teaching time and gives rise to frustration and dissatisfaction among students and faculty. Many of the off-campus students are older and pursuing a degree in addition to working and/or raising a family. They become particularly impatient when they feel their time and money is being wasted. Likewise, to attract faculty to develop and offer courses for distance education, technological failures or glitches must be held to a minimum.

3. Fully assess the long-term population of potential students. For off-campus programs, "build it and they will come" simply does not work. It is extremely important that planning for an offcampus program includes a projection of population and demographic dynamics in the service area. Because these programs attract a relatively large proportion of non-traditional students, it is possible to use up the available supply rather quickly. Initial enrollment will be quite encouraging but then may taper off to non-sustainable levels.

4. Adopt a phased-in approach. Rather than deploying all necessary resources to offer a complete major at the outset, it is preferable to take a phase-in approach. This may mean that some potential transfer students may not be able to immediately enter the program or complete their degree as rapidly as they may desire. But our experience suggests that it works best to grow the curriculum as sufficient numbers of students grow with it. Clearly it's most cost effective to start with majors that require minimal fixed infrastructure investments. Agribusiness management or agricultural education majors are less expensive to start up than majors that require specialized equipment, teaching laboratories, or greenhouses, etc. Still, degree offerings must fit local needs. Moreover, taking a phased-in approach avoids the problem addressed above. That is, if enrollment peaks and then declines, underutilized faculty resources will not be in place.