Feedback From Internships Led to Research

After students provided feedback on internship experiences in Colorado and Kansas, agriculture faculty realized they needed to broaden students’ understanding of animal agriculture. In the feedback, faculty found students were amazed by how different agriculture is in other regions, especially once they had experienced new regions firsthand. Dr. Anson Elliott, department head, explained, “Students had some knowledge going out there, but what they learned here [in Missouri] did not apply as well in Colorado or Kansas because of differences in climate and size. Agriculture students at Missouri State are used to 200-acre cattle operations in Missouri. In Colorado and Kansas, it’s 200 ‘sections.’”

Differences in agricultural methods and terminology vary across the country. Sue Webb, senior instructor, explained, “Students who did internships with big companies were caught by surprise. There’s an unexpected variety across the country. For example, there is less water in the Great Plains. These regional variations prompted us to think about a collaborative study between the University of Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri.”

Student Exit Survey and Changes to the Program

Agriculture developed an Exit Survey for seniors. Results from the survey led the School of Agriculture to make the following changes:

• Used the Journagan Ranch as a resource to develop more hands-on experiences, including short internships, for students
• Increased access to labs in Basic Animal Science classes
• Increased the number of short-term internships at agriculture facilities and provided more opportunities to work directly with animals
• An increased emphasis on animal welfare

Triangulating Student Feedback and Employer Feedback to Make Changes to the Program

• Hired a natural resource and forestry faculty member. Students repeatedly reported needing more forestry knowledge. This feedback from students was substantiated by the Conservation Department and the end user— employers.

• Employers said students needed more experience with social media and we needed to modify our program. Based on employer feedback and student feedback from internships, we hired a full-time person for Agricultural Communications. This person leads efforts to help students learn more about social media in the agriculture industry.

Agriculture

• 18 faculty
• 650 majors
• 9 undergraduate degree programs
• 40 graduate students
• 2 graduate programs

Keys to Success

• Developed an exit survey for seniors.
• Utilized information from employers and students to improve the program.

Methods to Collect Evidence

• Collected evidence through an exit survey.
• Collected evidence from students during the internship.