Agricultural Education Orientation

The purpose of this site is to disseminate information related to the Agricultural Education Orientation grant project. This grant is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture Hispanic Serving Institution's Educational Grants Program.

The agricultural industry faces an ongoing shortage of qualified applicants to fill positions.

This is not a problem unique to production agriculture; agricultural education has experienced a short fall of credentialed teachers for at least the last 38 years.

Further complicating this issue is the under representation of minorities in the agriculture industry and agricultural education fields.

The emphasis of this project is to recruit and educate students at College of the Sequoias (COS) in Visalia on the benefits of careers with USDA, in the agriculture industry and specifically in agricultural education. The overall goal is to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing and completing the Agricultural Education undergraduate program at California State University, Fresno.

Products resulting from this project include:

1) a new AEO course will exist after a review of the existing curriculum and modifications;
2) a website and promotional brochure will exist to dissemination project information; and
3) a sustainable preparation and recruitment program will be created and refined allowing this project to continue beyond the life of this grant. 

Outcomes will include:

1) at least 60 students will consider a career in agricultural education;
2) at least 60 students from COS will have clearly established academic and transfer plans allowing them to smoothly transition to the university;
3) as a result of their biannual advising meetings with a faculty advisor, each participant who attends CSU, Fresno will have a clearly established academic and career plan to assist in the retention of those students in the undergraduate program; and
4) one qualified, underrepresented student who completed the AEO course and is majoring in Agricultural Education at CSU, Fresno, will have full financial assistance covering all their educational expenses for two academic years allowing them to focus on their education and career success.

If you a student with an interest in participating in this program, please visit the "Prospective Students" page for more information and how to become involved in the AEO project.  If you are a current student enrolled in the AEO course at College of the Sequoias, please click on the "Current Students" page to find information pertaining to your course.