1998 Annual Report - ISU Extension

WELCOME TO
THE FUTURE

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Agriculture and Natural Resources

4-H Youth Development

Communities

Families

Extended and Continuing Education

Wallace Center Builds New Relationships

Business and Industry

Iowa State University Extension

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IN A TIME WHEN communication technology is changing concepts of distance and university "walls" are coming down, Iowa State University Extension finds itself in a world where increased competition is the order of the day. As a provider of information and education, ISU Extension is in a highly competitive field - one that demands products and services that are affordable and of high quality.

To meet these challenges, ISU Extension is positioning itself to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this new environment. This approach recognizes the dramatic impact that the mobility of capital, technology, and a highly skilled work-force; information technology; the new federalism; and market globalization will have on Iowa's communities and economies.

As ISU Extension works closer with the teaching and research efforts of Iowa State University, citizens benefit from expanded and higher quality services. Extension programs for private sector competitiveness will supply technical assistance and training to accelerate the growth of Iowa's manufacturing and related service industries, agriculture, and agribusiness. Training and education programs will improve the efficiency of local government and the quality of public services, improving the competitiveness of the public sector. Place competitiveness programs will help make Iowa towns, cities, and rural areas more attractive to an increasingly mobile and resourceful population.

IT'S ALREADY HERE

These three themes - private sector competitiveness, public sector competitive-ness, and place competitiveness - will guide ISU Extension as we prepare for the 21st century. To support these changes in extension, an increased appropriation of $916,000 from the state of Iowa (Extension 21) was made in 1998, targeting value-added agriculture and 4-H school-enrichment programs.

Another example of the new era for ISU Extension is the creation of a statewide association of county extension councils. County councils, which govern their county offices, came together in early 1997 to create the Iowa Association of County Extension Councils (IACEC).The association facilitates county councils acting in concert on issues of statewide significance and provides an additional avenue for interaction with local and state decision-makers.

IACEC efforts already have resulted in two changes to the Iowa Code that have given councils new financial flexibility and opportunity. For the first time, county councils are permitted to accept grants, enter into contracts for educational services, and develop alternative sources of funding, allowing them to diversify revenue sources and become more entrepreneurial. County offices have begun moving to a functional accounting system that allows them to better plan, manage, and monitor revenues and program costs. Councils also are permitted to reimburse members for actual and necessary expenses (other than attendance at regular local council meetings), encouraging wider citizen representation on extension councils.

Further evidence of disappearing geographical barriers is the Wallace Foundation Learning and Outreach Center - the first ISU facility outside Ames in which extension and research personnel work side by side. The center, a new concept in area extension offices, was created through both private and public funds and seeks to improve the standard of living and quality of life in southwest Iowa through accelerated agricultural research, education, technology transfer, and rural development initiatives.

Extended and Continuing Education offered 19 credit courses via the World Wide Web in fall 1998. Last year, the unit delivered 266 credit courses via distance education. More than 700 students took "Modern Data Communications," a noncredit correspondence course promoted through Electrical Contractor magazine. ECE also supported innovations in distance learning by administering grants from the president and provost for 12 distance education experiments in the spring of 1998, totaling $160,774. Overall, more than 280,000 Iowans learned through extension ECE courses.

Extension's Web server averages more than 75,000 user sessions from more than 80 countries in a given month, reflecting the importance of new communications technology. Extension's e-mail server processes more than 13,000 messages a day. A Web-based calendar enables staff to post county, area, and state extension events up to a year in advance. The calendar is available to the public at http://dbs.exnet.iastate.edu/calendar/ and may be searched by location, extension category, and date.

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WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
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Agriculture and Natural Resources 4-H Youth Development Communities Families Extended and Continuing Education Wallace Center Builds New Relationships Business and Industry Iowa State University Extension	.	IN A TIME WHEN communication technology is changing concepts of distance and university "walls" are coming down, Iowa State University Extension finds itself in a world where increased competition is the order of the day. As a provider of information and education, ISU Extension is in a highly competitive field - one that demands products and services that are affordable and of high quality. To meet these challenges, ISU Extension is positioning itself to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this new environment. This approach recognizes the dramatic impact that the mobility of capital, technology, and a highly skilled work-force; information technology; the new federalism; and market globalization will have on Iowa's communities and economies. As ISU Extension works closer with the teaching and research efforts of Iowa State University, citizens benefit from expanded and higher quality services. Extension programs for private sector competitiveness will supply technical assistance and training to accelerate the growth of Iowa's manufacturing and related service industries, agriculture, and agribusiness. Training and education programs will improve the efficiency of local government and the quality of public services, improving the competitiveness of the public sector. Place competitiveness programs will help make Iowa towns, cities, and rural areas more attractive to an increasingly mobile and resourceful population. IT'S ALREADY HERE These three themes - private sector competitiveness, public sector competitive-ness, and place competitiveness - will guide ISU Extension as we prepare for the 21st century. To support these changes in extension, an increased appropriation of $916,000 from the state of Iowa (Extension 21) was made in 1998, targeting value-added agriculture and 4-H school-enrichment programs. Another example of the new era for ISU Extension is the creation of a statewide association of county extension councils. County councils, which govern their county offices, came together in early 1997 to create the Iowa Association of County Extension Councils (IACEC).The association facilitates county councils acting in concert on issues of statewide significance and provides an additional avenue for interaction with local and state decision-makers. IACEC efforts already have resulted in two changes to the Iowa Code that have given councils new financial flexibility and opportunity. For the first time, county councils are permitted to accept grants, enter into contracts for educational services, and develop alternative sources of funding, allowing them to diversify revenue sources and become more entrepreneurial. County offices have begun moving to a functional accounting system that allows them to better plan, manage, and monitor revenues and program costs. Councils also are permitted to reimburse members for actual and necessary expenses (other than attendance at regular local council meetings), encouraging wider citizen representation on extension councils. Further evidence of disappearing geographical barriers is the Wallace Foundation Learning and Outreach Center - the first ISU facility outside Ames in which extension and research personnel work side by side. The center, a new concept in area extension offices, was created through both private and public funds and seeks to improve the standard of living and quality of life in southwest Iowa through accelerated agricultural research, education, technology transfer, and rural development initiatives. Extended and Continuing Education offered 19 credit courses via the World Wide Web in fall 1998. Last year, the unit delivered 266 credit courses via distance education. More than 700 students took "Modern Data Communications," a noncredit correspondence course promoted through Electrical Contractor magazine. ECE also supported innovations in distance learning by administering grants from the president and provost for 12 distance education experiments in the spring of 1998, totaling $160,774. Overall, more than 280,000 Iowans learned through extension ECE courses. Extension's Web server averages more than 75,000 user sessions from more than 80 countries in a given month, reflecting the importance of new communications technology. Extension's e-mail server processes more than 13,000 messages a day. A Web-based calendar enables staff to post county, area, and state extension events up to a year in advance. The calendar is available to the public at http://dbs.exnet.iastate.edu/calendar/ and may be searched by location, extension category, and date.
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