Extension Service Programs
The MSU Extension Service is a leading provider of noncredit educational opportunities for adults and youth in Mississippi. A partnership of federal, state, and county governments, Extension carries out the land-grant university mission of extending practical, research- based knowledge from the university to the people of the state.
Often described as MSU’s “classroom in the field,” Extension has offices and educators located in all 82 counties. Specialists and faculty members at the university develop curricula on a wide range of topics that are delivered by county Extension agents to people across the state, close to where they live and work.
In addition to direct contact with clients, MSU Extension agents have developed a comprehensive network of volunteers who serve as educational leaders in every community of the state. MSU Extension has thousands of registered volunteers who participate in educational programs that range from the Master Gardener certification program to subject matter programs for 4-H youth.
Originally established in 1914 to help rural residents improve their farming operations and quality of home life, today Extension offers educational programs for everyone: agricultural and horticultural producers, food processing and food-service workers, small business owners, forest landowners and managers, elected officials, community leaders, families, parents, and youth.
Educational offerings range from certification programs and state-mandated training to nonformal learning opportunities in the general areas of agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, enterprise and community development, and family and consumer education.
Many programs enable working Mississippians to excel in their occupations. These programs provide training in safe food handling, proper pesticide application, farm and forest management, assist entrepreneurs in business start-up and provide guidance to existing business enterprises, and educate citizens in many other ways to improve the quality of life in their homes and communities.
An important learning resource for tomorrow’s workforce is Extension’s 4-H youth development program, which helps young people develop the life skills, work ethic, and work readiness skills that will be essential to a successful future for Mississippi.
This document briefly describes the types of programs offered and highlights some of those with the most significant reach and impact. Many of these programs are unique and are not available from any other source. Also outlined are the most prominent program delivery methods, designed to accommodate the needs of citizens to learn close to home.
Program Delivery Modes
Basic to Extension program delivery is a commitment to local needs assessment and to program delivery at locations convenient to the workplaces and homes of learners. Extension educators in every county, who work closely with the counties’ residents and leaders, collaborate with university Extension specialists to identify and prioritize needs across the state.
Many working adults and active youth do not have the time or resources to travel long distances to take advantages of learning opportunities. Recognizing this need, Extension faculty conduct some programs in person. Other programs are conducted via distance education, with learning sites spread across the state. Listed below are some of the most prominent methods used to deliver Extension educational programs.
-
Short Courses, Conferences, and Training Sessions. Structured programs, usually ranging in length from a few hours to several days, enable participants to gain knowledge and key skills to help them in their business operations or in their homes and communities. Certification programs are the most formal of these sessions. Other types include seminars and workshops in which participants have an opportunity to learn from experts and from each other about the latest developments and best practices in their field of endeavor.
-
Demonstrations and Tours. Since the very beginning of Extension educational efforts early in the last century, demonstrations and tours have been among the most effective and convincing ways of teaching improved practices. Clientele who visit demonstration farms, forests, processing plants, offices, and communities are able to see how best practices can be successfully applied in practical situations.
-
Distance Learning Strategies. To help connect learners in all areas of the state with expert educators on the university campus and elsewhere, Extension employs a variety of distance education strategies. A leading technology is interactive video, which enables educators and learners across the state to interact effectively through local sites in high schools, community colleges, and university campuses. More traditional approaches to distance education include workshops by mail, which has been used effectively for programs on child care, parenting, financial management, and weight loss. Interactive multimedia technology is currently being explored for delivery of educational programs via the World Wide Web and CD-ROM.
-
Online Information Access. The growing proportion of Mississippians who have Internet access can find a wealth of information on a multitude of topics from this Web site. Extension has used the Web extensively since 1996 as a method for disseminating educational materials to its full range of clientele. MSUcares combines the research-based information resources of Extension with research information from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, providing “one-stop shopping” for the most comprehensive and up-to-date information available.
-
Traditional Media. The Extension educational program has long been supported by delivery of useful, important, and up-to-date information through a variety of traditional media. Clientele anywhere in the state can increase their awareness and knowledge through Farmweek, a half-hour weekly television program, two weekday radio programs, a multitude of news and feature articles in daily and weekly newspapers throughout the state, articles in specialized magazines, topical newsletters, and approximately 1,600 different publication titles available through county Extension offices.
Program Offerings
MSU Extension offers lifelong education by responding in direct and timely ways to local needs expressed by individuals, businesses, organizations, and local government. Educational programs are needs-driven, aimed at meeting specific needs with research-based solutions developed within the land-grant university system. These educational offerings rarely, if ever, duplicate formal, credit courses offered through traditional continuing education units or local community colleges.
Extension’s educational programs can be grouped into four categories:
- certification and legislatively mandated programs;
- workforce development programs;
- business and industry development programs;
- life skills and personal growth programs.
The following sections describe a few examples of programs in each of these categories. A catalog of Extension’s educational programs is available upon request.
Certification and Legislatively Mandated Programs
MSU Extension’s Center for Governmental Technology (CGT) conducts legislatively mandated certification programs for county purchase clerks, receiving clerks, inventory control clerks, and tax assessors. Additionally, CGT provides professional education programs for county supervisors, county administrators, and municipal officials. Extension’s Certification Program for Municipal Clerks and Tax Collectors and Certified Appraiser School are nationally recognized.
The Division of Water Supply under the Mississippi State Department of Health has contracted with Extension’s Community Resource Development Unit to develop, coordinate, and oversee legislatively mandated management training of board members for more than 1,200 rural and small municipal water systems in the state.
In an effort to assist childcare businesses in Mississippi, Extension conducts seminars and workshops through which childcare providers receive professional development hours towards state licensure.
Extension partners with the Mississippi Department of Health to certify food service personnel as required by law for all food service establishments holding permits in the state. Extension specialists designed and developed the 16-hour certification program which addresses proper personal hygiene, cross-contamination, time and temperature abuse, safe preparing and serving of food, hazard analysis critical control points, and cleaning and sanitizing. Food service participants must successfully complete a national standardized test following training to be certified.
In response to House Bill 820, which required all school districts in Mississippi to teach personal finance, Extension partnered with the State Department of Education to provide teacher in-service education on the High School Financial Planning Program curriculum. Produced by the National Endowment for Financial Education, and sponsored by Extension, the curriculum and accompanying student workbooks are provided at no charge to school districts in the state.
Extension agents instruct nearly thousands of private pesticide applicators annually in addition to certifying or recertifying nearly commercial applicators in accordance with state and federal mandates regarding proper use and storage of agricultural pesticides.
Workforce Development Programs
In January 2001, Extension established the first Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Authorized Learning Center in Mississippi. Professionals and technicians who conduct geospatial research use mapping programs and database information to show geographical relationships between resources and infrastructures. Resulting maps facilitate government and business decisions regarding things like placement of manufacturing plants, utility infrastructures, and transportation routes.
Extension conducts Small Business Start-Up Seminars and Specialized Small Business Workshops that reach new small business owners and specialized businesses annually. In addition, Extension specialists reach businesses through specialized seminars, workshops, and in-depth courses that are offered in response to specific needs identified by small business owners. Educational programs cover such topics as integrating computers into business, marketing, pricing, writing business plans, financing, record keeping and taxes, and e-commerce.
Business and Industry Development Programs
Extension’s Food & Fiber Center sponsored Mississippi’s first conference on lean manufacturing on the MSU campus in 2000. Lean manufacturing encompasses a group of processes and techniques originally developed by Toyota that can significantly increase productivity in many cases. Processes include improved production flow, reduced in-process inventory, cellular manufacturing, just-in-time raw materials scheduling, and self-directed teams.
Agriculture and forestry account for approximately 29 percent of Mississippi’s employment. More than 24 percent of all state wages are attributed to agriculture, forestry, and food systems. While Mississippi’s overall economy continues to grow and diversify, the agricultural sector still ranks first in overall economic impact on the state.
Extension specialists deliver short courses and workshops to thousands of forest landowners annually, impacting hundreds of thousands of acres of forest land. Topics included marketing and harvesting, forest and wildlife management, and pine thinning. Landowners participating in these courses indicated that the information provided would increase their yields by more than $24 million.
Extension’s programs for beef cattle producers have demonstrated the importance of retained ownership and value-added options as well. The Stocker Calf Program demonstrated additional profit per head, and the Farm to Feedlot Project resulted in increased average income. These programs increased Mississippi producers’ income significantly.
Life Skills and Personal Growth Programs
In cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) and USDA, Extension has implemented the Family Nutrition Program for food-stamp participants or food-stamp eligible individuals throughout the state. Thousands of people have learned to manage their food dollars through improved meal planning, shopping skills, and better food management. The short-term goal is to teach participants to provide healthful, lower-cost, appetizing meals for their families. In the long run, participants are expected to improve family health and increase self-sufficiency.
In another partnership with MDHS, Extension has provided educational programs to promote positive parenting and reduce repeat teen pregnancies.
In cooperation with Mississippi’s community colleges, Extension directs the Rural Medical Scholars program. In a state where about one-half of the population lacks access to a primary care physician (compared to the national average of 16 percent), the program’s aim is to encourage high school students to pursue careers as rural family medicine physicians.
When the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi requested grant proposals for local Community and Youth partnerships, Extension designed a training curriculum to help county faculty and local stakeholders form partnerships and develop successful grant-writing techniques. Community grant proposals described how money would be used to encourage youth not to start using tobacco products.
Summary
As part of the national Cooperative Extension System, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Mississippi State University Extension Service delivers nonformal, lifelong education to Mississippians in every county of the state. MSU Extension is a local needs-based network of educational professionals. Extension delivers educational programs through short courses, conferences, demonstrations, and personal contacts. Faculty use sophisticated distance learning strategies and the Internet, as well as traditional educational curricula and mass media, to reach diverse audiences. Extension’s educational programs are wide ranging, meeting workers’ needs for certification and on the job skills development, and helping businesses, industries, and local governments become more efficient and effective. Extension doesn’t fill a niche. Extension is the niche that offers extensive educational resources and programs to all Mississippians, from the cradle to the grave, anywhere, any time, any place.