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Distance Delivery of Intensive Farm Management Education. Rodney Jones, Alicia Goheen, Kevin Dhuyvetter, Terry Kastens, Vincent Amanor-Boadu, and Michael Langemeier K-State Research And Extension. KSU Ag Econ – Competitive Strengths. Subject Matter Expertise
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Distance Delivery of Intensive Farm Management Education Rodney Jones, Alicia Goheen, Kevin Dhuyvetter, Terry Kastens, Vincent Amanor-Boadu, and Michael Langemeier K-State Research And Extension
KSU Ag Econ – Competitive Strengths • Subject Matter Expertise • History and depth of core competency in farm management • Information • Kansas Farm Management Associations • Delivery Technology • Experience with distance delivery • Relationships already forged with division of continuing education
MAST Program • Intensive, High-Level Farm Management Education Program • Issue of Extension Funding • Issue of Alternative Delivery • 5 classes completed (180 students) • 1 special MAST alumni seminar • Program has received award recognition
MAST Program • High fee • A lot of interest in scholarship support from lenders, etc. • Geographic and business activity diversity among participants • Reasons for enrolling • Improve management skills • Networking • Increase profits • Transition issues
Teaching MAST • 14 Faculty – Staff directly involved • Varying degrees of involvement • 2 Day on-campus session I • Distance delivery 7 (8) modules • 37 hours of “recorded” time • CD or Internet • Binders full of notes and supplemental material • Suggested timelines • Chat sessions • Homework • Email-phone-message board interaction • Technology assistance (800#, email, etc.) • 2 Day on-campus session II
Modules • Land Ownership and Leasing • Machinery Ownership and Leasing • Financial Management • Human Resource Management • Tax Planning and Policy • Risk Management • Marketing
Participant Reactions • Really like the study flexibility • Can listen to audio portion anywhere • All sessions well received in content and deliver • Intensive information can be successfully delivered via distance • Variation in presentation quality is higher for distance modules, but not so for content • Might be sample • Might be that recording the distance modules is a skill that needs to be practiced and learned
Faculty Perspective • Workload • On campus session material is adjusted annually • Written material is revised as needed • Modules are re-recorded as needed • Module delivery can smooth the transitions associated with faculty turnover • Have been able to use modules previously recorded by faculty who have left • Incentives • Compensation • Technology
Important Lessons • Combination delivery is critical • Some topics lend themselves to distance delivery, others require face-to-face • Planning is required to sort this issue out • Face-to-face interaction is critical • Material • Participant interaction (the group really wants to get to know and learn from each other) • Final wrap-up session is critical • Must be well planned • Must summarize what was learned in the entire program
What Can We Improve • Would like to attract more out-of-state interest in the program • Explore why we have not had much success in this area
Web Sites • MAST • www.agmanager.info/MAST • Kansas Farm Management Association • www.kmar105.com