Transcript Lessons Learned About Agriculture by Doing FAEIS

Lessons Learned About
Agriculture by Doing FAEIS
Timothy P. Mack
Associate Dean for Information Technology and Distance Education
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Tech
1862 Land-Grants
• 49 of 58 have an Agricultural college.
• 12 are “College of Agriculture.”
• 37 are “College of Agriculture and
Something Else.”
– Natural resources, life science(s),
environmental sciences, food sciences,
biological sciences, FCS.
Names of Colleges of
Agriculture
Agr iculture ; Fore s tr y/Natur al Re s our ce s ; Fam ily &
Cons um e r Scie nce s
Agr iculture ; Fam ily and Cons um e r Scie nce s
2
3
7
Agr iculture ; Othe r Scie nce s
11
Agr iculture ; Life Scie nce s
14
Agr iculture ; Fore s tr y/Natur al Re s our ce s
12
Agr iculture
0
5
10
15
College of
Ag.
Departments
at the 1862
Institutions
No.
NAME
47
Animal Science
39
Food Science
36
Crop and Soil Sciences
33
Entomology
31
Agricultural Economics
29
Horticulture
29
Plant Pathology
27
Nutrition
25
Other, AG
23
Agricultural Engineering
22
Agricultural Education
21
Plant Science
20
Environmental Science, Policy, Management
20
Natural Resources
17
Biochemistry
17
Forestry
17
Veterinary Science
Other Department
Names
• N > 5: Biology, rangeland, statistics,
communications, fisheries, parks and
recreation, human development, landscape
architecture, extension education, and others.
• Are these ‘agriculture’?
• Should they count in enrollment and
placement data?
What About the CIPs in
FAEIS
• FAEIS has:
– Photobiology 26.0208
– Developmental Biology &
Embryology 26.0404
– Microbial and Eukaryotic
Genetics 26.0803
•
FAEIS does not have:
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Virology 26.0504
Immunology 26.0507
Zoology/Animal Biology 26.0701
Animal Behavior and Ethnology
26.0708
Molecular Physiology 26.0902
Cell Physiology 26.0903
Endocrinology 26.0904
Reproductive Biology 26.0905
Exercise Physiology 26.0908
Molecular Toxicology 26.1005
Environmental Toxicology 26.1006
Pharmacology and Toxicology
26.1007
Evolutionary Biology 26.1303
Population Biology 26.1306
Oceanography, Chemical and
Physical 40.060
If we add too many, then list is excessively long and
data are ‘lost’
Self Coding Confusion
• The Academic and Program Areas of CIP codes were based on the
CIP 2000 taxonomy and the Texas A&M CIP codes.
• Thousands of the CIP codes could be in FAEIS. Dr. Jeff Gilmore
selected about 200 of those that most frequently appear.
• One problem lies in users selecting CIP codes.
– For example:
• 01.0000 Agriculture, General
• 01.0101 Agriculture Business and Management, General
• 01.0102 Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations
– Does user select the general or the specific? Is he or she consistent
over time?
• Confusion ensues when one discipline uses a general CIP (01.0000
Agriculture, General) and another uses a specific one 0.1.0102
Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations).
What is Agriculture?
• Narrow or broad definition?
• Comparing apples and oranges for
College enrollments?
– College with biology versus one without.
• Where are the biology majors? It depends….
• What should be officially reported for
assessments?
A Definition of Agriculture
• If we cannot define what agriculture is,
then how can we track it?
• NEEDED:
– A commonly accepted definition of
agriculture and its associated CIP codes.
– APS should do this.
Quality Control in FAEIS
• Data Entry
– The FAEIS application automatically compares data entered in the
current year with the data from the prior year. If there is more than a
10% discrepancy, then the numbers appear in red.
– However, if the data entry person is only entering data and is not
concerned about the highlights, he or she might miss this critical flag.
• Missing CIPS
– The most common problem is data for a CIP are reported one year and
not in another.
• Major was discontinued?
• Person failed to report?
• Person last year used a different CIP code?
• Who is Checking?
– FAEIS application allows the college contact person to see who is not
reporting.
• Not all institutions are taking advantage of this.
Complete Enrollment
Almost
Complete
Enrollment
Incomplete Enrollment
Is someone checking these
data?
A New Major,
or
Incomplete
Enrollment?
Challenges in FAEIS
• Definition of Agriculture.
• Self Selection of CIP Codes.
• Change of College coordinator over
time- checking data.
• New/discontinued disciplines and
departments.
Most of these are longstanding
challenges.
What is FAEIS Good at?
• Studying any discipline or group of disciplines
over time.
• Comparing a common set of disciplines
across institutions.
– Custom Report Builder
• Studying trends in the above items.
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Over time.
Over institution type.
By gender or ethnicity.
Any combination of these.
Assessment Survey 2005
• 568 respondents to survey done by the
Cornell Survey Institute.
• Largest portion classified themselves as
administrators.
• Users are generally satisfied with the context,
input, process, and products associated with
FAEIS.
• The quality and usefulness of the reports are
high especially for internal benchmarking.
FAEIS Strengths
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Comparison with other schools
Database of agricultural colleges
Trends in enrollment
Diversity benchmarks
Job placement information
It’s the only game in town
Review information from other schools
Best source for comparative data in program areas
Good way to share institutional data information
Ability to obtain data by CIP codes
Reliable source of data for family and consumer science
Main source of agricultural education statistics
Information available from one source
Improvements to FAEIS
• Increase institutional participation by increasing
value of reports.
• Use data available from other sources.
• Suggestions to enhance benefits:
– Updates of new programs each year.
– Create repository of PowerPoint presentations and
develop institutional profiles.
• FAEIS is the only source for national enrollment
in associated areas.
Improving the 1862
Institutional Data
• Work together to have each 1862 check
its data and fill in the blanks.
• The better the data, the more valuable
FAEIS becomes to you.
FAEIS and USDA Staff are
Limited in What We Can Do
• Efforts at getting non-responders to
enter data.
– Emails to Institutions from FAEIS staff.
– Telephone calls from FAEIS staff.
– Email from Ian Maw.
– Letter from Ella Smith, USDA.
• Many have not yet entered their data.
Complex Issues
• FAEIS only reflects what the system is.
• Non-uniform….
– Definitions of agriculture.
– Degrees of interest in FAEIS.
– Commitment over time to any data entry in FAEIS.
• Commitment may even vary by department head or
chair.
– Checking of local data for accuracy.
• APS can be a strong force in bringing order to
this Universe, if it wants to.
What are good ideas
and practical
suggestions to
enhance FAEIS?