2009 PSD Plans
From Extension Collaborative Wiki
4. What plans and new directions do you intend to pursue in 2010?
Georgia
ExTEND Program will continue through 2010.
South Carolina - Clemson University
Professional Development Trainings will be conducted using Adobe Connect.
A web based needs assessments will be administered to assess agent’s professional development needs.
New Agent Training will be conducted as needed throughout the year using Adobe Connect.
Virginia
Institutional Evaluation Capacity Research This Hatch project will track evaluation capacity building in Extension faculty.
Communities of Practice Heather and Nancy are helping develop, maintain, and evaluate a variety of evaluation communities of practice including the eXtension CoP on evaluation, leadership, professional development, professionalism, educational programming, and engagement. They will also continue to provide support for the NCSU evaluation community of practice and others across the nation.
VT Engagement Culture Development Nancy attended the Engagement Academy for University Leaders as part of the VT team. They will implement faculty conversations to assess the engagement climate at VT and make recommendations to enhance this culture.
VCE Leadership Changes and Strategic Planning The College of Ag and Life Sciences and VCE currently have interim leadership. A new dean will be announced soon. Virginia Cooperative Extension is also undergoing a year long strategic planning process. These factors will impact the future work conducted by the program development unit.
Kentucky
PSD Unit Restructured The Program & Staff Development unit is being restructured. The County Operations portion of the Assistant Director for Program & Staff Development has been split out and has been filled by a former District Director. A national search will be conducted for an Extension Specialist in Program & Staff Development to provide statewide direction for program development, evaluation, orientation and reporting and accountability. Qualifications will include an earned doctorate with a minimum of five years of experience. Faculty appointment is an option.
Leadership Development An Extension Leadership Development work group has been formed to inventory the various leadership development programs being conducted by Cooperative Extension and the components which are essential for effective leadership, to identify future leadership development needs and propose a plan to address those needs. Implementation of the plan is anticipated in 2010.
Kentucky State University is developing handbook for new KSU Land Grant employees; anticipating expansion of Land Grant Program to College status.
Arkansas
Website Development: With a new content management system being implemented for the University of Arkansas Extension Website, the Program and Staff Development Department will continue to update, revise and add to its Web pages to provide easier access to resources provided by the department.
Online Course Development: Collaborating with key faculty in developing online courses in the following topic areas: financial planning for newlyweds, water policies, and basics of strategic planning.
Arkansas CES Moodle Course Transition: Continue the transition of the UACES from existing online platform to http://courses.uaex.edu (the Arkansas CES Moodle platform) which will require rebuilding the remaining CES Educator courses.
Learning Technology Applications: Investigate use of technologies for mobile and location-based learning.
AIMS Management: Support of Arkansas Information Management System (AIMS) Help site, with task-based video clips.
Extension Support Staff In-Service Training: Management and personal development skills training for classified support staff. May, 2010.
New Employee Orientation In-Service Classes: Conducted again in October 2009 and May 2010. A New Employee website is currently under construction.
"Filling Your Extension Toolbox": Extension Educator Process Skills In-Service Training Course, December, 2009.
Needs Assessment Training: ‘Using Needs Assessments to Identify Clientele and Program Priorities” In-Service Training Class, March, 2010.
Supervisor In-Service Training: For Extension middle managers.
Core Competency Assessment and Training: Continue the implementation of core competencies assessment and training for county Extension agents.
Louisiana--LSU AgCenter
Two themes appear to be emerging for 2010: (1) Making do with what we have (i.e. working smarter) and (2) Telling the Extension story. How successful we are at accomplishing this will depend on the quality of our people and the quality of our programs and we will be working diligently to improve each in the coming year. Strong administrators at the local level will be critical to our success in both areas. A newly-developed competency model for parish chairs (county directors) will be implemented and training to support those competencies will be conducted and/or identified. Leveraging our program evaluation resources, program results and impacts will be better documented and communicated to stakeholders. Dr. Laura Kalambodikis, Ag Economist from the University of Minnesota will be helping us to learn to build extension's public value so that we can do a better job of telling our story.
Texas Plans for 2010 include the further operational strategies for initiative began in 2009. We plan to re-ignite efforts in program development and interpretation of our efforts. In addition, a mjor revamping of web based resources will be conducted.
