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GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: REACHING NON-TRADITIONAL, PLACE-BOUND STUDENTS.
Author
Smart, Alexander J.
Fick, Walt
Schacht, Walt
Karen, Hickman
Norland, Jack
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2017
Body

A growing demand for online course offerings in natural resource management by non-traditional, place bound students, has created a unique opportunity for universities in the Great Plains to invest in a Grassland Management Graduate Certificate through the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GP IDEA). Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, Oklahoma State University, South Dakota State University, and North Dakota State University created a 12-credit graduate certificate in grassland management with course offerings in grassland fire ecology, grassland monitoring and assessment, grassland plant identification, grazing ecology and management, principles of forage quality & evaluation for grazing livestock, watershed management, and ecology of invasive species. �Since our first course offerings in 2007, the program has seen a steady increase in student enrollment and credit hour generation from 3 credits in FY 2007 to 108 credit hours in FY 2016. To date, the program has graduated 5 students with a current enrollment of 46 certificate seeking and 72 non-certificate seeking students. The mean age of our student population is 33. The majority come from Oklahoma (32), Kansas (17), South Dakota (11), Nebraska (10), and Texas (9) and represent a total of 19 different states. A survey of students enrolled in two courses in fall 2013 revealed that students found out about the certificate program through online searches, university websites, and from advisors. Most of the students indicated that the certificate would help them move into rangeland management positions, fulfill partial degree requirements towards a master�s degree, or expand their knowledge for future job opportunities. In our view, the Grassland Management Graduate Certificate program has been quite successful in providing opportunities for non-traditional, place bound students to meet minor career adjustments.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM St. George, UT
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts