Each summer the Provost requests that all colleges and divisions submit academic reports that highlight the most noteworthy achievements from the past year. I find that the process of compiling this report offers an excellent opportunity to reflect back on all that we have accomplished together.
A few highlights from our division’s 2011-12 report:
- Ecampus introduced four new online credit programs and was ranked eighth in the nation by SuperScholar.org for the quality and strength of its distance education program.
- 352 distance students received their diplomas through Ecampus, including students located in 35 states and six countries.
- Professional and Noncredit Education added four programs, with the expectation of launching upwards of 20 more in 2012-13.
- OSU Extension’s Ask an Expert program is now among the top four most active of its kind in the country. Since its launch in March 2011, our Ask an Expert program has resolved over 4,000 questions.
- OSU Extension trained over 14,000 volunteers and impacted the lives of more than 2.1 million Oregonians.
- In partnership with the OSU Libraries, Extension and Experiment Station Communications (EESC) now provides digital access to more than 6,000 current and historical Extension and College of Agricultural Sciences research publications through ScholarsArchive.
- Summer Session enrollment increased 10.2 percent from last year to 6,875 students.
- The first Natural Resources Leadership Academy (NRLA) was held on campus in June and attracted 42 participants from 10 states and two foreign countries.
The full report is available on our website: http://outreach.oregonstate.edu/about/plans-reports
What accomplishment are you the most proud of from the past year? Submit your answer below in the comments section before Oct. 31 to be entered to win a $50 OSU Bookstore gift card.
I look forward to reading your responses!
– Scott
The accomplishment I’m most proud of is the fact that Ecampus continues to garner national recognition for the excellence of its online programs. Too often (in education, business or elsewhere) expansion comes at the expense of quality, but Ecampus hasn’t fallen victim to that. Our high placement in various national rankings coincides with our growth. And what makes that most encouraging is that so many people play a role in the process — Ecampus staff, OSU faculty, department heads, various student support units and on and on. It’s a campus-wide effort.
Working with fruit farmers, the ODA, DEQ and local Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council to achieve a 15000 lbs reduction in pesticides per year going into the environment over the last 6 years and maintaining this reduction for the last two years. Cumulative funding relating to these projects brought in over $450,000 to the Walla Walla Valley. This lead to successful requests to the DEQ for sponsored clean-ups of legacy chemicals have removed another 20,000 lbs of chemicals from the watershed.
I’m most proud of the successful FCH Teams in Central Oregon. The Nutrition Education Staff continues to produce very strong behavior change data in our schools; the Master Food Preservers lead and enhance public workshops that get lots of positive feedback; and the Nutrition Education Volunteers extend our reach in Food Pantries and other community sites with excellent results.
The accomplishment I’m most proud of is the success of the Developing an Online Course workshop, a faculty training designed to guide course developers through the development of one module or unit of an online course using research-based best practices in course design and pedagogy. Facilitated by Blackboard Trainer, Karen Watte, along with instructional designers Laura Casey and Jonan Donaldson, faculty course developers get lots of one-on-one attention–but also get to learn from each other as they work to create their course materials.
Those who complete the training often comment that they feel very prepared for what lies ahead, and that they wouldn’t have wanted to do a course development without this workshop. It feels great to be able to help OSU’s talented faculty offer quality, engaging courses for our online students.
Wallowa County has been very active in the 4-H Urban to Rural Program which has exposed urban youth to the lifestyle and issues that the rural Oregonians live daily. In addition, we have been thrilled that the rural families are interested in learning more about the urban issues.
As an EPA with OFNP in Jackson-Josephine counties office (SOREC) I am assigned to Sam’ Valley Elementary for the nutrition education program. This is the second school term we have been there. At the Back To School Night last Thursday many parents stopped at the table to chat, relating changes that the materials and/or information their kids received from the OFNP program have had on their household food choices and meals. It was such feedback and parents seemed genuinely glad that OSU Extension was in “their” school.
Working with OSU Extension faculty, EESC colleagues, and others to publish new companion websites for the PNW pest management handbooks: http://pnwhandbooks.org
Two of the three handbooks (weed and plant disease) have new websites, and the third (insect) is scheduled to launch in 2013.
The new websites provide Extension specialists, Master Gardeners, and others with quick, easy access to information from the printed handbooks plus supplemental content (e.g, photos, links). And behind the scenes, an efficient publishing process allows more frequent revisions and speedy website updates. The websites contain all content from the printed handbooks (600+ pages each) but can be updated in just hours.
Being able to teach growers in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Dominican Republic and 25 other countries, providing pruners, and leaving researched based OSU information. These actions have changed these peoples lives, increased pruning on over 400 hectares of orchards and have in many cases increased family income by 50%.
Tonya Johnson and I experienced a significant increase in interest in food preservation this summer, and we were able to schedule and teach additional classes to meet that need in Polk, Yamhill, and Marion counties. Knowing that more people know how to safely preserve their bounty is gratifying!
I’m proud of getting the new Christmas tree sustainability program (SERF) up and running, and now with 4000+ acres of production officially certified.
Also, the bilingual and highly visual publication- Identifying and Managing Christmas Tree Diseases, Pests and Other Disorders co-authored with Luisa Santamaria is a new first-rate training manual.
Since March 2012, I have taught over 600 kids from 1st through 5th grades and in Boys and Girls Clubs the importance of healthy eating. I am an EPA in Josephine County, newly hired in Feb 2012. I am most proud when a child comes up to me and says they are eating more fruits and veggies, or they only drink sodas for special occasions now (I showed them that 19 t of sugar are in a 20 oz container of Code Red). This is a wonderful job!
IIn 2001, I started a 4-H Leadership Club. This group of 8th-12th graders teach classes locally and in surrounding counties. They are active in multiple community service projects, and are the “go to” youth for the Leaders Association programs: running Bingo Night, organizing and running the member and leader recognition nights, helping with set up/tear down of various events. Many of these youth are counselors at the Lock-In and Summer Camp. They learn to plan, organize, problem solve and step outside of their box. It is so gratifying to see the quiet, shy members in 8th grade becoming the leaders of the group when they are seniors.
My workshop “Speakeasy-Public Speaking for Novice Presenters” was accepted for the national 4-H agents conference. This will be my first time teaching at a national conference! I’m excited to share my passion of teaching public speaking to young students with agents from other states. This successful field-day is experiential learning at its best!
Our Polk County OSU Extension Service office moved three weeks before County Fair. I’m proud of the way our Extension staff and volunteers made the move happen, and that I survived another move and another County Fair!
My shining moment from the past year has it’s roots in 2010. I was on a committee to help design a support staff track for the 2011 4-H/FCH spring conference. As part of that effort, the committee discovered that clear guidelines for Extension mailings were not easily available. I found an outdated policy and procedure list on the topic and updated it to share at the conference, in a session I co-led with Susan Coleman. That session was well received. Last month, my office manager shared a new policy and procedure sheet she’d found on the Extension website. It was my handout, with new web addresses for logos. I am very proud that I played a small part in making this information available to my colleagues.