table of contents - walla walla community college · 2011-09-06 · table of contents : agriculture...

Agriculture Center of Excellence Annual Report July 2010 - June 2011

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Table of Contents:

Agriculture Center of Excellence Profile 2

Agriculture Center of Excellence Staff 3

2010-2011 Center Advisory Board 4

Agriculture & Natural Resource Programs 5

Interaction with Washington’s College System 6

Vision, Mission, & Core Expectations 7

Operational Goals & Initiatives 8

Initiatives Related to Core Expectation #1 8





Funding for this project was provided by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges


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Agriculture Center of Excellence Profile: The Agriculture Center of Excellence, located at Walla Walla Community College, provides fast and flexible service, responding to the interests of educational institutions and the workforce training needs of the agricultural industry across Washington. Designed to encourage economic development through collaborative processes and partnerships; the Center links education to industry. The Center promotes the establishment of clear career pathways in agriculture to advance the state's $38 billion food and agricultural industry1.

The Center enhances the agricultural industry in Washington State by supporting the agriculture and natural resource programs offered at community and technical colleges. The Center serves 25 colleges, which offer a multitude of programs. Center services encourage the efficient use of resources for workforce development activities and initiatives by nurturing a culture of cooperation within the community and technical college system. The Center is a resource that promotes agriculture and natural resource education, creates and shares curricula, expands and strengthens degree/certificate programs, and facilitates professional development for college faculty.

Statuary Definition: SHB 1323, signed into law in April 2009 defines, “Centers of Excellence” as a community or technical college designated by the College Board as a statewide leader in industry-specific, community and technical college workforce education and training. The College Board, in consultation with business, industry, labor, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the department of commerce, the employment security department, and the community and technical colleges, shall designate Centers of Excellence and allocate funds to existing and new Centers of Excellence based on a competitive basis. Statuary Role: “It is the role of Centers of Excellence to employ strategies to create educational efficiencies; build diverse, competitive workforce for strategic industries; maintain an institutional reputation for innovation and responsiveness; develop innovative curriculum and means of delivering education and training; act as brokers of information and resources related to community and technical college education and training for a targeted industry; and to serve as partners with workforce development councils, associate development organizations, and other workforce and economic development organizations.”

1 Washington State Department of Agriculture, http://agr.wa.gov/AgInWA/

There are 25 Washington community and technical colleges with agriculture and natural resource programs.


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Agriculture Center of Excellence Staff: The Agriculture Center of Excellence was staffed in 2010-2011 by a Director, Office Assistant I, and Statewide Ag Recruiter. The Center was under the guidance of a full-time Director during the 2010-2011 fiscal year. In September, the Center hired a full-time Office Assistant I to provide support for the Director. The Statewide Ag Recruiter traveled to high schools throughout Washington part-time (69.5 hours/month) from January to May 2011.

Jaime L. Clarke, Director MA Communication and Leadership Studies, Gonzaga University BS Environmental Science, University of Denver

LaKatherine Stanger, Office Assistant I AAAS Accounting, Walla Walla Community College

Jason “JJ” Harrison, Statewide Ag Recruiter MA Teaching and Instruction, University of Phoenix BA Education, Washington State University


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2010-2011 Center Advisory Board: Name Job

Title/Representation Organization Location

Ramon Benavides

Bilingual Safety & Health Consultant

Washington State Dept. of Labor and Industries, Division of Occupational Safety & Health

Yakima

Dean Farrens

Vice President, Past Washington State Farm Bureau

Walla Walla

Wayne Gilman

Agricultural Pathways Supervisor

Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction

Olympia

Leslie Hammer

Communications & Training Coordinator, Recruiting

The McGregor Company Waitsburg

Doug Loney

TAA Counselor WorkSource Center Walla Walla

Chris Popken

Regional Sales Manager

RDO Equipment, John Deere

Pasco

Mike Swan

Professor, Agricultural & Food Systems Department

Washington State University

Pullman

The Agriculture Center of Excellence Advisory Board met quarterly during the 2010-2011 school year. Outcomes of Board Meetings included the creation of a Center Strategic Plan and Operations Plan, which integrated a Fundraising Plan to promote self-sufficiency.


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Agriculture & Natural Resource Programs:

There are seven career pathways in the Agriculture and Natural Resource Career Cluster.


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Interaction with Washington’s College System: The Agriculture Center of Excellence tracks interaction within the community and technical college system. In 2010-2011, the Center Director visited 22 of the colleges which are currently offering agriculture and natural resource programs. The Center defines levels of college interaction as: engaged, disengaged, and unrelated.

• The Center has identified colleges that have participated in quarterly meetings, contributed to webinars or workshops, and interacted with Center staff at least quarterly as Engaged.

• Colleges that interacted with the Center on a less than quarterly basis have been identified as Disengaged.

• The colleges that do not house agriculture, conservation, or renewable resources programs or whose programs are inactive have been identified as Unrelated or Inactive.

Colleges: Interaction: Colleges: Interaction:

Bates Unrelated Olympic Disengaged, Not Visited

Bellevue Unrelated Peninsula Inactive,

Not Visited Bellingham Engaged Pierce – Fort Steilacoom Disengaged Big Bend Disengaged Pierce - Puyallup Unrelated Cascadia Disengaged Renton Disengaged

Centralia Disengaged, Not Visited Seattle Central Engaged

Clark Engaged Shoreline Unrelated Clover Park Disengaged Skagit Valley Disengaged Columbia Basin Engaged South Puget Sound Engaged Edmonds Engaged South Seattle Engaged Everett Disengaged Spokane Engaged Grays Harbor Engaged Spokane Falls Unrelated Green River Disengaged Tacoma Unrelated Highline Unrelated Walla Walla Engaged Lake Washington Engaged Wenatchee Valley Engaged Lower Columbia Unrelated Whatcom Unrelated North Seattle Inactive Yakima Valley Engaged


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Vision: Washington shall become a national model in developing partnerships among business, industry, and education for the purpose of enhancing economic and workforce development initiatives to meet the current and future needs of the industries critical to the state’s economic vitality.

Mission: Washington’s Centers of Excellence shall serve as the statewide liaisons to business, industry, and the state’s educational system for the purpose of creating a highly skilled and readily available workforce critical to the success of the industries driving the state’s economy and supporting Washington families.

Core Expectations: Core expectations were created as guiding principles for the ten Centers of Excellence. The core expectations relate directly to the mission of the Centers and build toward achieving the collective vision. Centers are evaluated on fulfilling the five core expectations. The measurement tool for evaluating the core expectations relates directly to the Centers of Excellence operational goals. All of the Centers of Excellence must meet the core expectations and measureable operational goals to remain in good standing. However, each Center approaches the attainment of the core expectations and operational goals with unique industry specific initiatives.

1. Ensure the efficient use of state resources for workforce development activities and initiatives by fostering a culture of cooperation within the community and technical college system.

2. Provide leadership by representing the Washington community and technical college system, local business and industry in state, national and international industry specific forums, activities and economic development initiatives.

3. Serve as a resource for the creation and sharing of model curricula, educational pathways,

degree/certificate programs, industry specific skill standards, and best practices.

4. Demonstrate excellence in communication and collaboration while fostering synergistic interconnectedness of Washington’s economic, workforce development, and educational systems.

5. Ensuring long-term sustainability of the Centers of Excellence.


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Operational Goals & Initiatives:

Operational goals are provided by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The Agriculture Center of Excellence has addressed the operational goals through the following innovative initiatives.

Core Expectation # 1: Ensure the efficient use of state resources for workforce development activities and initiatives by fostering a culture of cooperation within the community and technical college (CTC) system.

• Operational Goal: Facilitate and encourage collaboration and sharing of curricula, best practices, and resources among each community and technical college.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence facilitated Washington Association of Collegiate Agriculture and Natural Resource Educators (WACANE) meetings via Elluminate in September, December, and June. Meeting participants discussed curricula sharing and eLearning best practices. WACANE meeting agendas and minutes are published on the Center’s website under the “Educators” link. 2010-2011WACANE participants included:

• Columbia Basin College • Grays Harbor College • Lake Washington Institute of

Technology • South Puget Sound Community

College

• Spokane Community College • Walla Walla Community College • Washington State University • Wenatchee Valley College • Yakima Valley Community College

In addition to hosting WACANE meetings, the Center has established peer-group connections between agriculture and natural resource faculty. Peer groups were encouraged to exchange information via eLearning webinars. Four webinars were recorded and posted on the Center’s website, under the “eLearning” link.


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• Operational Goal: Collaborate with other Centers to develop and deliver programming, seminars, workshops, conferences and training opportunities to faculty, industry, and economic development partners.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence explored partnership opportunities with other Washington Centers of Excellence. These opportunities included collaboratively submitting a grant application to the Western Center for Risk Management Education with the Center of Excellence for Homeland Security; co-presenting during the Pathways to Prosperity Rural Economic Development Conference with the Center of Excellence for Allied Health and the Center of Excellence for Clean Energy; and co-hosting outreach events such as the Legislative Mixer in Olympia and the Professional-Technical Luncheon at Columbia Basin College.

Wine donated for the Legislative Mixer from South Seattle Community College, Walla Walla Community College, and Yakima Valley Community College enology and viticulture programs.

Washington Centers of Excellence directors and staff presenting at the Pathways to Prosperity Conference.

Pictured from left to right: Jaime Clarke (Director, Agriculture Center of Excellence), Janet McCann (Director, Center of Excellence for Allied Health), Jamie Krause (Program Manager, Center of Excellence for Clean Energy), and Barbara Hins-Turner (Director, Center of Excellence for Clean Energy).


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• Operational Goal: Strengthen role as a repository of expertise and current information regarding industry standards, emerging technologies, trends, and best practices.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence reviewed current industry occupational trends utilizing data provided by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc, (EMSI). Data analysis was used to develop an industry trend report, 2010-2011 Agricultural Industry & Occupational Outlook Report. Information generated from the report was then compared to the in-demand jobs list provided by the Washington Interactive Labor Market. New labor data was released in July of 2010, which was used to identify in-demand agricultural occupations across the state. Occupational trends and job growth projections for mid-2011 and mid-2018 were included in an updated brochure, 2010-2011 Agricultural Occupations Quick Guide. The quick guide was distributed to WorkSource Offices, Workforce Development Councils, and high school agriculture instructors in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. An electronic copy of the brochure was included in information provided to all high school career and guidance counselors in Washington. A copy of the brochure and report are available on the Center’s website under the “Industry Partners” link.

In-Demand Agricultural Occupations

Projected Growth for mid-2011 and 20182

Job Title 2011 Growth Rate % 2018 Growth Rate % Average Hourly Wage

Agriculture Workers 0.8 5.8 $16.75

Biological Technicians 0.8 12.7 $19.68

Bookkeeping & Accounting Clerks 0.0 5.6 $18.08

Computer Support Specialists 1.0 14.7 $24.07

Environmental Science & Protection Technicians 1.1 16.1 $22.26

Farm & Home Management Advisors 1.2 20.1 $23.98

Farm Workers & Laborers 1.3 8.6 $11.65

First-Line Landscaping Supervisors 2.2 26.8 $23.77

Landscape & Grounds Workers 2.4 26.9 $14.57

Veterinary Technicians 3.2 35.2 $15.00

2 Data used to develop the In-Demand Agricultural Occupations was retrieved in August 2010 from Qualifying Occupations, www.wilma.org/wdclists/ and Workforce Explorer, www.workforceexplorer.com


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• Operational Goal: Provide technical assistance in the integration of basic skills and professional and technical education to support ABE and ESL student skill development in the driver industry occupation areas.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence produced and disseminated career pathway diagrams for Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) students in the Plant Science Career Pathway. The career pathway diagrams illustrate start and stop points for the degree programs, as well as average hourly wages, for eleven colleges with degree programs in the Plant Science Career Pathway. The diagrams were provided to program faculty and Basic Skills Directors electronically and are available on the Center’s website under the “Curriculum Resources” link. In addition to developing and distributing career pathway diagrams, the Center participated in the I-BEST Practices Workshop co-hosted by the Washington Centers of Excellence. The Director co-presented with other Center directors and discussed how Centers support I-BEST faculty.

• Operational Goal: Coordinate, mentor, and assist other colleges in establishing quality programs that support the driver industry throughout the state.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence was contacted by South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) and Walla Walla Community College (WWCC). The colleges requested assistance in the establishment of an integrated or collaborative degree program. The Center has facilitated the sharing of course information and mentored the faculty through the process. Following months of collaboration, SPSCC decided to pursue a primary degree in Turf Management. SPSCC students will take online classes offered by WWCC in order to complete degree requirements. The new primary degree is currently under review by the SPSCC Curriculum Committee.

Career pathway diagram developed on-behalf of Big Bend Community College’s Agricultural Production Program.


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Core Expectation # 2: Provide leadership by representing the Washington community and technical college system, local business and industry in state, national, and international industry specific forums, activities, and economic development initiatives.

• Operational Goal: Participate in Industry Skill Panel, Workforce Development Council and other local, regional, statewide, and national workforce development forums, meetings and activities.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence was provided an opportunity to present to the Washington Economic Development Commission. The Center Director informed the Commission members about the Washington Centers of Excellence and the specific education/talent pipeline that the Agriculture Center of Excellence represents. In an effort to establish stronger relationships with Workforce Development Councils, the Center contacted all of the Washington Workforce Development Councils that indicated agriculture and natural resources as a target industry cluster within their service areas. From the initial contacts made, the Center attended the Eastern Washington Partnership Workforce Development Council Meeting and presented to the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council. Attendance at Workforce Development Council meetings provided the Center Director an opportunity to network and share information about services offered by the Center to dislocated workers and for incumbent worker training.

• Operational Goal: Participate in the development of industry specific grants, collaborative projects and other events/activities.

In an effort to better serve the driver industry, the Agriculture Center of Excellence re-focused energy toward industry-specific projects and relationship building. In 2010-2011, the Center Director attended fourteen industry-specific events participating as a conference attendee and/or exhibitor. These events included:

• Water & Environmental Policy Conference

• Green Industries & Career Expo • Land and Water Summit • Focus on Farming • Washington Cattlemen’s Association

Convention • Washington State Farm Bureau

Annual Meeting • Washington Association of Wheat

Growers Annual Convention

• Far West Agribusiness Conference • Pasco Real Ag Show • Yakima Ag Show • Washington State Hay Grower’s

Association Conference • Washington/Oregon Potato

Conference • Washington Association of Wine

Grape Growers Annual Meeting • Washington State Ag Safety Day

Participation in industry events provided the Center Director with valuable contacts as well as new insights into emerging industry issues and technologies. Attendance at numerous industry-specific events, increased industry connections and raised awareness about the services available to industry at community and technical colleges across Washington.


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• Operational Goal: Participate in regional economic development panels, meetings, committees, and activities.

The regional economic development organization within Southeastern Washington is the Port of Walla Walla. The Agriculture Center of Excellence Director attended Port of Walla Walla Economic Development Committee meetings held throughout the year. Outcomes from Port meetings included new industry contacts, such as Tyson Foods.

• Operational Goal: Meet regularly with industry leaders to ensure system responsiveness.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence hosted the Washington State Department of Agriculture Director for a partnership discussion in July 2010. The Department of Agriculture Director, Dan Newhouse, met with Dr. VanAusdle, President of Walla Walla Community College, and the Center Director to explore collaborative projects and potential Advisory Board members. The composition of the Center Advisory Board was refined to a seven member cross-section of the industry. Meeting quarterly the Advisory Board members approved the 2010-2011 Work Plan, approved the 2010-2011 Calendar of Industry Events, and ranked the educational priorities of the Center.

Ranked program areas for the 2010-2011 school-year (listed from highest to lowest):

• Plant Science • Natural Resource • Environmental Service • Power, Structure & Technology

(Equipment & Technology)

• Agribusiness • Food Processing & Technology • Animal Science

Advisory Board members participated in the strategic planning process through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threat (SWOT) Analysis, and approved the 2010-2012 Strategic Plan. The Advisory Board also discussed a fundraising plan, strategies, and contingency plans for continued operation of the Center independent of state funding.

The program priorities were selected from the seven career pathways within the Agriculture & Natural Resource Career Cluster.


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Core Expectation # 3: Serve as a resource for the creation and sharing of model curricula, educational pathways, degree/certificate programs, industry specific skill standards, and best practices.

• Operational Goal: Publish industry specific skill standards and programs of study which include sustainability concepts.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence initiated a Skills Panel for Irrigation Technology. The Center contacted over 200 industry representatives and organizations, from a list provided by the Walla Walla Community College Irrigation Technology Program. The Skills Panel was hosted during February 2011, in Ellensburg at Central Washington University. Industry participation in the Skills Panel was limited due to the inclement weather on the day of the event, approximately 40 participants confirmed attendance, due to snow and winter driving conditions only seven industry representatives attended. The participant number allowed for more feedback and discussion, resulting in a large number of edits for the Irrigation Technology Skill Standard, which was last updated in 1999. In early April, the Center followed up on the Skills Panel results mailing letters and updated documents to participants and interested parties. The letter requested that all additional comments be received by May 2011; one comment was received and incorporated. The draft materials and results of the Skills Panel are available on the Center’s website under the “Skill Standards” link.

• Operational Goal: Develop a strategy for the dissemination of skill standards throughout the community and technical college system, business, and industry.

Links to the agriculture and natural resource skill standards are provided on the Agriculture Center of Excellence website. The “Skill Standards” link may be accessed from the homepage. There are currently three skill standard documents that contain multiple skill standards within the areas of agriculture, food processing, and natural resources: Agriculture

• Agriculture & Diesel Equipment Mechanic

• Irrigation Technician • John Deere Agricultural Equipment

Technician • Turf Equipment Service Technician • Turf Management Technician

Food Processing • Laboratory Technician • Operator • Maintenance • Sanitation • Trimmer/Sorter

Natural Resources

• Environmental Technician • Fisheries Technician • Forestry Technician • GIS Specialist • Natural Resources Technician


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• Operational Goal: Develop a strategy for the marketing of technical career and training opportunities/materials with K-12 youth, parents, faculty, and guidance counselors.

The 2010-2011 Agriculture & Natural Resource Program Guide featured all agriculture, conservation, and renewable resource programs listed according to CIP and provided by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The updated guide illustrates career pathways within the Agriculture and Natural Resource Career Cluster in an effort to make the resource tool more effective for K-12 youth, parents, faculty, high school guidance counselors, and dislocated workers. The 2010-2011 Agriculture & Natural Resource Program Guide was distributed to community and technical college Presidents, WorkSource Centers, Workforce Development Councils, agricultural commodity commissions/associations, and high school agriculture instructors in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. An electronic copy of the guide was included in information provided to all high school guidance counselors in Washington State, as well as the community and technical college Vice Presidents of Instruction, Workforce Education Directors, and agriculture/natural resource faculty. Copies of the program guide are available on the Center’s website under the “Workers & Students” and “Educators” links. In 2011, the Statewide Ag Recruiter conducted high school visitations throughout the state to promote enrollment in the community and technical college system and especially in agriculture-related programs. During the five months of recruiting, the Statewide Ag Recruiter visited 18 high schools and collected over 1,200 interest cards from high school students. Contact information from interest cards was shared with the community and technical college agriculture and natural resource programs. The Statewide Ag Recruiter visited the following high schools speaking with students in FFA classes, science classes, and school-wide assemblies:

• Blaine High School • Cedarcrest High School • Columbia River High School • Deer Park High School • Eastmont Junior High School • Kahlotus High School • Lacrosse High School • Mt. Baker High School • North Kitsap High School

• Othello High School • Rochester High School • Toutle Lake High School • Wahluke High School • Walla Walla High School • White Salmon High School • Wilson Creek High School • Winlock High School • Woodland High School


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The Agriculture Center of Excellence coordinated the District 6 FFA Agricultural Mechanics Contest in March 2011. The event was attended by 45 high school students from southeastern Washington. The State FFA Agricultural Mechanics Contest was hosted by the Agriculture Center of Excellence in April 2011. The event was attended by 108 high school students from the following schools:

• Arlington High School • Burlington-Edison High School • Colfax High School • Colton High School • Creston-Wilbur-Keller High School • Ferndale High School • Garfield-Palouse High School • Lacrosse High School • Lynden Christian High School • Mt. Baker High School

• Mt. Vernon High School • Moses Lake High School • Quincy High School • Reardon High School • Ritzville High School • Royal High School • St. John Endicott High School • Stanwood High School • Wilson Creek High School

District 6 FFA agricultural mechanics contestants identified parts.

The FFA Agricultural Mechanics Contest featured seven program areas. Students were scored on their knowledge and abilities in: energy systems (small engines), environmental systems (irrigation), industrial systems (parts identification), machinery systems (welding), structural systems (electrical), team activity, and a written examination.


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• Operational Goal: Facilitate the development of seamless educational articulations among CTCs, K-12, and four-year colleges and universities that support the driver industry.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence facilitates the development of seamless educational articulations among the K-12 system, community and technical colleges, and four-year colleges/universities. In an effort to quantify the number of articulations, the Agriculture Center of Excellence began collecting data to track Tech Prep and four-year college/university articulations. A comparison of Tech Prep agreements from 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 yielded an increase in approximately 15 articulation agreements overall for community and technical colleges that had participated in curriculum sharing events such as the 2009 Tech Prep Articulation Workshop and the 2010 Washington Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE) Conference Curriculum Development Workshops. Due to past success, the Center continued to hosted events focused on curriculum sharing and articulation agreements. For example, a Tech Prep Articulation Workshop was hosted in February that built off of the 2010 WAAE Conference Curriculum Development. The focus of the workshop was, AGPR 254: Integrated Pest Management, presented by Bob Gillespie, Agriculture Instructor at Wenatchee Valley College. The workshop was attended by high school teachers who received intensive instruction and electronic copies of course materials, such as the course syllabus, notes, and assignments/quizzes. As in previous years, the Center hosted Curriculum Development Workshops at the 2011WAAE Conference. Presentations at this year’s conference were provided by:

• Matt Williams, Agriculture Instructor, Walla Walla Community College AGPR 113 – Plant Anatomy and Morphology

• Todd Bates, Forestry Instructor, Grays Harbor College

NR 160 – Terrestrial Habitats of the Pacific Northwest Workshop attendees received materials for AGPR 113 and NR 160 on flash drives including: course syllabus, lecture notes, quiz examples, and laboratory activities. The purpose of the workshops is to encourage curricula sharing and articulation agreements within the agriculture and natural resource programs of study. The Center also co-hosted a K-12 Teacher Workshop with the Northwest Natural Resources Institute. The workshop featured nationally recognized natural resource curricula, such as Project Learning Tree, Project WET, and Project WILD. The workshop was attended by 17 participants. Workshop participants received copies of the training guides and materials necessary to implement a variety of natural resource based lessons.


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Core Expectation # 4: Demonstrate excellence in communication and collaboration while fostering synergistic interconnectedness of Washington’s economic, workforce development, and educational systems.

• Operational Goal: Develop and maintain a comprehensive, current website containing

resources for students, workforce and economic development professionals, educators, industry, and government.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence maintained a dynamic website in 2010-2011 that included information for “Workers & Students, “Industry Partners”, and “Educators”. Each page of the website contained specific information targeted at the appropriate audience. New tools were added to the website which allowed viewers to skip to areas of interest without scrolling through the entire page. In addition, a new page featuring eLearning was added to the website, the “eLearning” page may be accessed from the homepage. Center website visits increased in 2010-2011, with 1,950 visits and 56% new visits. The recently added “eLearning” page received 422 page views and 219 unique views. The Center also participated in the development and maintenance of the collective Washington Centers of Excellence website.

• Operational Goal: Publish a regular e-newsletter and an annual report which highlights Center activities, industry specific economic development initiatives and best practices.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence published a quarterly electronic newsletter in addition to bi-monthly email updates. Both electronic publications were disseminated to all community and technical college Presidents, Vice Presidents of Instruction, Workforce Education Directors, and agriculture/natural resource faculty members; as well as the Center’s Advisory Board and members of the Washington Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE). Information in the newsletter featured recent and future promotional efforts, such as student recruitment in high schools and industry trends. Additionally, the Center produced a comprehensive 2009-2010 Annual Report and published it on the Center’s website under the “About Us” link.


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Core Expectation # 5: Ensuring long-term sustainability of the Centers of Excellence.

• Operational Goal: Identify and pursue non-state funded revenue sources.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence actively pursued non-state funded revenue sources in the form of federal grants. The Center has submitted two collaborative industry specific grants and was involved in a third grant proposal, 1) USDA – Bioenergy, 2) Western Center for Risk Management, and 3) National Science Foundation.

Grant Opportunity Amount Requested Funding Status

USDA – Bioenergy $40,000,000.00 Pending

Western Center for Risk Management $49,800.00 Denied

National Science Foundation Undetermined Application Due October

2011 Total $40,049,800.00

Grant opportunities pursued by the Agriculture Center of Excellence in 2010-2011.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence was a key partner in the USDA – Bioenergy Grant submitted during 2010-2011. The project team includes: University of Washington, Washington State University Extension, Oregon State University, ZeaChem Inc., and Greenwood Resources. The $40 million proposal is currently under review and if funded will provide $2.9 million to the Agriculture Center of Excellence for the purpose of workforce training over the next five years. If funded, the project will support biofuels/bioenergy curriculum development and implementation into existing agriculture-related programs of study, in addition to the development of a new Sustainable Bioenergy Associate Degree. In partnership with the Center of Excellence for Homeland Security, the Center submitted a grant pre-proposal to the Western Center for Risk Management to support training focused on Continuous Operations Plans.

Working with Edmonds Community College and Skagit Valley College, the Center engaged in planning discussions for a National Science Foundation Grant proposal due in October 2011. The purpose of the proposal is to expand upon the Urban Food Production and Sustainable Agriculture program recently established at Seattle Central Community College.


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• Operational Goal: Develop strategies to leverage resources and funding.

The Agriculture Center of Excellence Director attended the quarterly Workforce Education Counsel (WEC) meetings. During the winter quarter WEC meeting the Director met with several community college Deans and discussed the addition of Food Processing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) programs to the Center’s training list and career cluster map. In 2010-2011, the Center developed and maintained a comprehensive list of agriculture and natural resource programs offered by community and technical colleges. The list was used to create a mind-map of the various programs, illustrating the seven career pathways within the agriculture and natural resource career cluster. Following the winter WEC meeting, the Center updated the geographic map on its website as well as the colleges and programs list under the “Courses & Degrees” link. The career cluster map was also updated to include the new programs.

• Operational Goal: Develop clearly articulated and documented return on investment for each Center project that: 1) Identifies system benefit; 2) Demonstrates either soft ROI, cost savings, educational efficiencies and/or leveraged resources; and 3) Identifies any industry or federal hard match.

In an effort to better focus Agriculture Center of Excellence activities and resource allocation within the college system the Center has developed a data repository. Several quantitative tracking tools have been implemented to monitor agriculture and natural resource program enrollments, Tech Prep articulation agreements, and four-year college and university articulation agreements throughout the state. Data collection and analysis has established a baseline which will be beneficial in tracking system wide trends, identifying colleges that may need additional assistance, and enabling the Center to pursue federal funds that require quantitative performance measures.

This table illustrates the comparison of Tech Prep articulation agreements in program areas between 2009-2010 (blue) and 2010-2011 (red).

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2009-2010 Articulations

2010-2011 Articulations

500 Tausick Way Walla Walla, WA 99362

www.agcenterofexcellence.com

table of contents - walla walla community college · 2011-09-06 · table of contents : agriculture...

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