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Higher Education; Government School Relationship; Work Experience; Experiential Learning; United States History; Land Grant Universities; Innovation; Competition; Global Approach; Engineering; Manufacturing; Universities

Abstract:
Congress should establish an initiative to designate 20 institutions of higher education as "U.S. Manufacturing Universities" as part of a needed push to strengthen the position of the United States in the increasingly innovation-driven global economy. In 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Act, which established land-grant colleges to promote learning in "agriculture and the mechanic arts." These colleges played a key role in enabling the United States to later take the lead in the mechanization of agriculture and the industrialization of the economy. Today, the challenge is even greater as America competes against a wide array of nations seeking to win the race for global innovation advantage, especially in advanced manufacturing. A new cadre of federally-designated "Manufacturing Universities" that revamp their engineering programs with particular emphasis on work that is relevant to manufacturing firms while providing engineering students with real-world work experience should be part of the solution. [Additional funding was provided by F. B. Heron Foundation.] Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Federal Programs; Land Grant Universities; Rural Areas; Grants; Federal Government; Urban Universities; College Role; Educational History; Federal Legislation; Government Role; Comparative Analysis; Agriculture; School Community Relationship; Urban Areas; Educational Policy; Public Policy

Abstract:
This article examines how the history of land-grant universities in America shaped the views of higher educators, public officials, and foundations on the role of urban universities in addressing the problems of American cities. Higher education leaders urged the federal government to provide funds that would enable urban universities to do for cities what they believed land-grant universities had done for agriculture and rural areas. The urban land-grant analogy shaped the Urban Observatories program, the movement for urban-grant universities, the establishment of the HUD Office of University Partnerships, and in a different way, the proposed Urban Universities Renaissance bill. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Trustees; Public Colleges; Fuels; Energy; Administrator Attitudes; Land Grant Universities; Land Use; Ownership; Higher Education; Employment Opportunities; Income; College Role

Abstract:
Shale-gas fracking is sure to bring all kinds of changes to Ohio. But what administrators and trustees at Ohio University are concerned about at the moment is who will control whether their land gets fracked. In years past, individual boards of trustees, for the most part, controlled the land at the state's colleges and universities. But a new law directs Ohio's state institutions to inventory their parcels and determine whether gas companies can drill on them--with the state pushing the colleges to offer up their land. Higher education can hardly ignore the money and jobs that shale-gas drilling brings. But colleges also have a role in protecting their communities. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Land Grant Universities; School Community Relationship; Community Development; Rural Areas; Case Studies; Socialization; Entrepreneurship; Social Capital; Capacity Building

Abstract:
In the struggle to remain true to their technical assistance and civic engagement missions in an era of shrinking budgets and increasingly complex accountability claims, land grant universities have developed different engagement strategies to contribute to the development of surrounding communities. Drawing on Flora and Flora's (in "Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci," 48, 1993) assertion that a strong and "entrepreneurial" social infrastructure is critical for facilitating lasting change and development in communities (particularly rural communities), this article presents a case study of a land grant university's engagement with a community landcare group from the perspective of building social capacity in surrounding communities. This case explores Virginia Tech's involvement in facilitating and supporting Catawba Landcare using three theoretical frames--Ronald Heifetz's concept of "holding environments" as a safe and facilitated space where social learning can occur; ecological and social entrepreneurship and the roles and functions required to support these forms of entrepreneurship; and the concept of learning action networks in which otherwise disparate partners are linked under common goals and collectively learn how to manage the situation at hand. Using these three theoretical frames, this paper posits landcare as a model of engagement for land grant universities thus contributing to the construction of social infrastructure. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Computer Graphics; Electronic Mail; Land Grant Universities; Agricultural Education; Computers; Agriculture; Internet; Word Processing; College Faculty; Information Technology; Undergraduate Study; Higher Education; Databases; Spreadsheets; Integrated Learning Systems

Abstract:
This study sought to assess required information and communication technology (ICT) tasks in selected undergraduate agriculture courses in a land-grant university during a 10-year period. Selected agriculture faculty members in the fall 1999 (n = 63), 2004 (n = 55), and 2009 (n = 64) semesters were surveyed to determine the ICT tasks they required of students. There were significant (p less than 0.05) increases in the number of required Internet and electronic mail tasks between 1999 and 2009; but no significant changes in the number of word processing, computer graphics, spreadsheet, database, or miscellaneous ICT tasks required over the period. In 1999, three specific tasks (receive electronic mail, search the Internet, and type a lab or project report) were required in more than 50% of courses; in 2009, these three tasks plus three additional tasks (send electronic mail, submit assignments as attached electronic mail files, and use Blackboard[C] to acquire course information) were required in a majority of courses. Faculty with higher levels of self-perceived ICT skills and those teaching higher-level courses tended to require larger and more diverse sets of ICT tasks than other faculty. Course level explained the largest proportion of unique variance in the number of required spreadsheet, word processing, computer graphics, and miscellaneous ICT tasks. Self-perceived ICT skills and course level explained approximately equal amounts of the unique variance in total ICT tasks required. Both the quantity and complexity of ICT in undergraduate agriculture courses should be increased. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Nonformal Education; Evaluation Utilization; Program Evaluation; Accountability; Extension Education; Land Grant Universities; Program Improvement; Capacity Building

Abstract:
Increasing demands for accountability in educational programming have resulted in increasing calls for program evaluation in educational organizations. Many organizations include conducting program evaluations as part of the job responsibilities of program staff. Cooperative Extension is a complex organization offering non-formal educational programs through land grant universities. Many Extension services require non-formal educational program evaluations be conducted by field-based Extension educators. Evaluation research has focused primarily on the efforts of professional, external evaluators. The work of program staff with many responsibilities including program evaluation has received little attention. This study examined how field based Extension educators (i.e. program staff) in four Extension services use the results of evaluations of programs that they have conducted themselves. Four types of evaluation use are measured and explored; instrumental use, conceptual use, persuasive use and process use. Results indicate that there are few programmatic changes as a result of evaluation findings among the non-formal educators surveyed in this study. Extension educators tend to use evaluation results to persuade others about the value of their programs and learn from the evaluation process. Evaluation use is driven by accountability measures with very little program improvement use as measured in this study. Practical implications include delineating accountability and program improvement tasks within complex organizations in order to align evaluation efforts and to improve the results of both. There is some evidence that evaluation capacity building efforts may be increasing instrumental use by educators evaluating their own programs. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Higher Education; Land Grant Universities; Democracy; Expertise; Scholarship; Administrators; Community Involvement; Public Colleges; Citizenship; School Community Relationship; Partnerships in Education; Evaluation

Abstract:
The centrality of engagement is critical to the success of higher education in the future. Engagement is essential to most effectively achieving the overall purpose of the university, which is focused on the knowledge enterprise. Today's engagement is scholarly, is an aspect of learning and discovery, and enhances society and higher education. Undergirding today's approach to community engagement is the understanding that not all knowledge and expertise resides in the academy, and that both expertise and great learning opportunities in teaching and scholarship also reside in non-academic settings. By recommitting to their societal contract, public and land-grant universities can fulfill their promise as institutions that produce knowledge that benefits society and prepares students for productive citizenship in a democratic society. This new engagement also posits a new framework for scholarship that moves away from emphasizing products to emphasizing impact. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Undergraduate Students; Research Universities; Land Grant Universities; Public Colleges; Public Service; Institutional Mission; Mixed Methods Research; Student College Relationship; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Scholarship; Citizenship Education; Service Learning; Citizen Participation; Student Development

Abstract:
A "student scholars" program was developed to engage undergraduates at a large, public, land-grant research university with its public service and outreach mission, through cohort meetings, supervised internships, and site visits. Qualitative and pre-/post-participation quantitative data from the first cohort of 10 students show that participants gained deeper understanding of the university's public service and outreach mission, purpose, and activities, and developed skills appropriate to engaging in this work themselves. Such a program holds promise for creating a core of informed student advocates for the university's public service and outreach mission and engagement work as well as improving these students' own competencies and motivations for incorporating public service and outreach into their academic and professional careers. (Contains 5 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Rural Areas; Poverty Areas; Disadvantaged; Activism; Community Change; School Community Relationship; Institutional Cooperation; Intercollegiate Cooperation; Land Grant Universities; Black Colleges; Race

Abstract:
The communities in the Black Belt South and Central Appalachian regions in the United States share long histories of persistent subjugation. Both regions also have strong traditions of partnerships between grassroots activists and scholars--partnerships that have, at times, lent resilient responses to political, economic and cultural challenges, and at other times, been less hospitable to inclusivity, particularly of the voices from community members. This article discusses the background of an attempt by scholars and activists from these regions to forge trans-local partnerships between the Appalachian Studies Association and the Black Belt Action Network (BBAN). The goal of these emerging conversations is to share resources between these organizations, both lessons learned in the form of the development and practice of place-based regional curricula such as those instituted and refined by Appalachian Studies Programs, and to engage in a process of reciprocal, storied learning as both regional organizations work to mobilize, theorize, and strategize authentic community-university partnerships in rich and dynamic places. (Contains 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Environment; Student Attitudes; Online Courses; Student Interests; Land Grant Universities; Electronic Learning; Satisfaction; Student Surveys; Rating Scales; Graduate Students; Statistical Analysis; Cooperation; Online Surveys; Correlation; Social Networks; Internet; Alignment (Education); Educational Improvement; Student Motivation; Learning Experience; Social Cognition; Agricultural Education; College Faculty

Abstract:
Student demand and budget shortages have influenced the need for land-grant institutions to offer online courses. Research has identified that online courses broaden the reach of land-grant institutions to students who may not have access to campus. Literature indicated student satisfaction in online courses should be routinely assessed in order to potentially improve online course delivery. This study was framed with the motivational needs theory and social presence theory. The purpose of this study was to measure students' perceptions of the learning environment, social presence, and satisfaction in online courses. An electronic survey was implemented using the Tailored Design Method to collect the data. Learning environment was correlated with social presence, and learning environment and social presence were significant effects on students' satisfaction p less than 0.05. Learning environment and social presence accounted for 26% of the variance in students' satisfaction with eLearning courses. Including social media tools in eLearning courses, may assist students enhance their social presence in the respective course. Designing types of assignments that involve collaboration among students, and instituting authentic learning experiences that align with student interests, will improve students' social presence, the learning environment and student satisfaction in eLearning courses. (Contains 5 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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