SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/338693
www.stma.org July 2014 | SportsTurf 29 Landscape Irrigation Class. This class also carries a dual credit, where it can be transferred onto a University. The second biggest change has been artic- ulation agreements between the 2-year turf management programs and the state universities. These 2+2 agreements allow students to create a seamless transition after the hands-on 2-year experience into their bachelor's degree. Third, more hands-on lab spaces have been developed for the students involved in the program. Our Athletic Field Maintenance class works on the college's baseball and softball fields, along with maintaining the newer Intramural Field. Some of the biggest challenges facing 2-year programs will be overall student numbers. When I started 8 years ago we had a turf student population of 60 and now our program is just over 45 full-time and part-time students. The delivery of education has changed. Students want more education delivered in online for- mats or hybrid coursework (class that are part face-to-face and part online). This online tran- sition is difficult for hands-on programs, but we have been making unique curriculum changes to encourage more students into the turf man- agement program. Students are required to perform an intern- ship between their first and second years. Internships start in early April and run through the summer until August. About 50% of the students will pursue out-of-state internship of all kinds and the other 50% in state or local. Students are required to complete daily logs, skills worksheets, and employer evaluations. When the students return to class they will give short presentations about their internship experiences to their peers. The sports turf industry has already been an outstanding supporter of the 2-year turf programs, especially with the conferences, turf bowls, and education resources for all students. I would encourage the sports turf community to reach out to younger generations about the possibilities in this career field. Mineral area College, Park Hills, Mo From Chad Follis, Horticulture Instructor: Our program is typical of most community college (cc) programs. Heavier on plant and soils courses and lighter on general studies courses. We have 65 credit hours required for degree completion, with three specific courses. [5 years ago] the program existed on paper but had no support; fundamentally it didn't exist. Getting this part of the hort program off that mat was part of why I was hired. We are making progress but [not yet] to the level I want in another 5 years. Perception. We need to make it more clear that cc's are a viable hiring alternative and that our students are poten- tially more emerged in plant growth since two-thirds of their courses are in the world of plant growth and less in general stud- ies. We also have a more diverse student population than most universities from a pure socio-economic perspective. We require two internships, one in the sum- mer the other during one of the four semesters. Students are responsible for finding their own internships with help as needed. We do a couple spot check follow ups during the internship and students have 30-hour reports. We try to get students into multiple locations so they can see various perspectives. Support. We are not doing research like a land grant so our students may have less exposure to cutting edge research since we don't have research centers, etc. So support comes in the form of in-class speakers and field trips. Help us put demo turf plots on campus; many cc programs manage their cam- pus sports fields and need basic supplies (tools, fertilizer, etc). Think of your local FFA pro- gram, that is what your local cc is with deeper educational con- cepts. We need the same types of support. Make sure to invite the cc's to the summer and winter field days. Since most cc students are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds maybe the regis- tration fees could be adjusted. In Missouri the Gateway Chapter of STMA and the state turf council have registration for $30 for students. This allows me to take all our students to winter conference instead of just a few. ■ Chad Follis, Mineral Area College