11/29/99

Contacts:
Richard Carter, Brenton Center for Agricultural Instruction and Technology Transfer, (515) 294-6950
Ed Adcock, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-2314

GO TO SCHOOL WITHOUT GOING TO CAMPUS

AMES -- Take a comfortable chair, lean back, flip on the television, put in a videotape and start studying. It can be that easy to take a class from Iowa State University's College of Agriculture this spring semester.

The College of Agriculture offers 36 courses that allow people to attend classes from off-campus. The deadline for registering for most of the courses is Jan. 3, 2000. Depending on the classes, the courses are available on the Worldwide Web, the Iowa Communications Network, videotape, CD-ROM or a combination of these.

A wide variety of courses are available, from basic to advanced, according to Richard Carter, director of distance education for the College of Agriculture. He said some courses require admission to a degree program at Iowa State, but others don't.

A new course this spring is Agronomy 494X, which offers an introduction to organic crop production. ISU faculty and organic farmers will give an overview of rules, regulations and practices of organic farming; soil health and crop rotations guidelines; pest management options; and production and marketing advice for crops/forage, fruits, vegetables and livestock. The six-week course allows participants to enroll for credit or for Continuing Education Units.

Information about the courses, with details on enrolling, is on the web at: www.agde.iastate.edu. Or you can call 1-800-747-4478 for more information. Here is a list of courses and dates:

• Leadership Programs in Agriculture (AgEdS 315) Jan. 11-May 9
• Short Course in Agricultural Education (AgEdS 500) Jan. 10-March 10
• Program Development and Evaluation in Ag. Extension Education (AgEdS 524) Jan. 11-May 2
• Ag. and Extension Education in Developing Countries (AgEdS 561) Jan. 13-May 4
• Fundamentals of Soil Science (Agron 154) Jan. 10-May 5
• Introduction to Meteorology (Agron 206) Jan. 10-May 5
• Organic Crop Production (Agron 494X) Jan. 24-Feb. 28
• Crop Improvement (Agron 511) Jan. 10-May 5
• Soil-Plant Environment (Agron 512) Jan. 10-May 5
• Quantitative Methods for Agronomy (Agron 513) Jan. 10-May 5
• Crop Ecology and Management (Agron 531) Jan. 10-May 5
• Crop Protection (Agron 533) Jan. 10-May 5
• Applied Agricultural Meteorology (Agron 541) Jan. 10-May 5
• Precision Farming Systems (AST 333) Jan. 10-May 5
• Manure Management Systems for Livestock Production (AST 475) Jan. 10-May 5
• Wildlife and Agriculture (A Ecl 130) Jan. 10-May 5
• Workshop: Nutrition Management of Dairy Cattle (Ans 493L) Jan. 3-5
• Workshop: Dairy Facility and Systems Planning (Ans 493M) Jan. 5-7
• Applied Non-Ruminant Nutrition (Ans 512) Jan. 10-April 24
• Sustainable Agriculture Seminar (Ans 580) Jan. 19-March 22
• Biochemistry (BBMB 404) Jan. 10-May 5
• Biochemistry (BBMB 405) Feb. 1-Aug. 31
• Principles of Microeconomics (Econ 101) Jan. 10-May 5
• Principles of Macroeconomics (Econ 102) Jan. 10-May 5
• Advanced Farm Management (Econ 530) Jan. 11-Feb. 22
• Introduction to Insects (Ento 201) Jan. 10-May 5
• Management of Insect Pests (Ento 386X) Jan. 13-March 30
• Management of Small Forest Properties (For 310) Jan. 10-May 5
• Biotechnology in Agriculture, Food and Human Health (Gen 308/508) Jan. 10-May 5
• Vegetable Crop Production (Hort 471) Jan. 19-April 12
• Biology of Microorganisms (Micro 302) Jan. 10-May 5
• Microbial Physiology (Micro 404/504)
• Microbiological Safety of Foods of Animal Origins (Micro 407/507) Jan. 10-May 5
• Advanced Microbiology (Micro 501) Jan. 10-May 5
• Principles of Plant Pathology (PLP 407) Jan. 10-March 31
• Practical Plant Pathology (PLP 493) Feb. 21-25

The number of students taking courses from off campus has been growing in recent years, Carter reported. Last year, fall semester 1998 and spring semester 1999, 904 students took classes, up from 570 students two years earlier. Carter envisions a time in the not-to-distant future when there will be more College of Agriculture students taking courses from off campus than on.

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