(Revised June 2007) Introduction

Iowa State University Extension
Field and County Operations Guide


History and Background

The Extension Field and County Operations Guide is the outgrowth of a yearlong project to consolidate into one resource the procedures used by field and county extension staff in the day-to-day operations of their offices and programs. Goal of the project was to make the guide easily available online to all staff and to make it possible to update it quickly as changes are needed.

The new Operations Guide was developed through the individual and joint efforts of two groups: The Office Assistant Desk Reference Manual Committee formed in 1993, and the Administrative Handbook Committee formed in 1994. The references developed by those two groups initially were intended for different audiences. The Desk Reference Manual was used primarily by county support staff, and the Administrative Handbook primarily by county and field professional staff. Both resources were revised on an annual basis, and over the years, considerable overlapping of content developed.

Members of the original Office Assistant Manual committee formed in 1993 were:

Members of the committee who worked on the new Extension Field and County Operations Guide were:

Carole Adams, Wayne County
Jean Halbur, Crawford County
Myrt Hanson, North Central Area
Jean Postel, Jones County
Phyllis Raper, Adair County
Judy Reynolds, Webster County
Loa Dawn Vincent, Carroll County
Elsie Jean Wilson, Grundy County
Sue Barnes, Howard County
Joyce Coppess, Cedar County
Carole Gorham, Harrison County
Lona Harbison, Jefferson County.
Sharon Evans, Wright County
Claire Mastin, Northeast Area
Sue Schwaller, Cherokee County

Members of the original Administrative Handbook committee formed in 1994 were:

Members of the committee who worked on the new Extension Field and County Operations Guide were:

Beverly Peters, Franklin County
Norm Riggs, Polk County
Nancy Rash, Muscatine County
Jenny Verdoorn, Sioux County
Jessica Lamker, Central Area
Sherry Glenn, Central Area
Donna Andrusyk, Bremer County
George Cummins, Floyd County
Sue Delaney, Monroe County
Donna Donald, Decatur County
Duane Feltz, Shelby County
Carole Gorham, Harrison County
Lona Harbison, Washington County
Dick Horne, Winneshiek County
Carl Neifert, Madison County
Mary Clancy, Shelby County
Steve DeHoogh, Iowa County
Paulelda Gilbert, Webster County
Sherry Glenn, Central Area
Jeanette Grote, Sac County
Pat Gorman, Grundy County
Margaret Mordan, Monroe County Extension Council member
Brad Pellett, Cass County Extension Council member
Pat Reed, Boone County
Janet Smith, Henry County
Jerry Weiss, Pocahontas County
Elsie Jean Wilson, Grundy County

In working through the process of developing the new guide, the committees reviewed each handbook respectively. Both committees considered combining the two handbooks and explored the possibilties of moving to a web-based reference tool. The committees eventually decided to combine their efforts after acknowledging the outstanding work of the original groups. Goals of the new combined group were to reduce duplication, make the new guide accessible to all staff members and Extension Council members, and make it an interactive tool linking to other resources on the World Wide Web.

This new guide has been developed as a great resource for the novice or for the old pro. It is easily accessible to all staff and council members. Efforts have been made to eliminate duplicated, and sometimes conflicting, information. The guide now provides easy access to other resources on the web that are used by extension staff, and it can be easily downloaded and easily updated.

The Extension Field and County Operations Guide remains a Work in Progress. The input of users is vital as it continues to evolve. This Guide will change and grow and input to committee members will help make it better.

Current Committee members - Effective 10/01/2004

 

CEED

Office Assistant

Extension Council

Field Specialist

Central

David Brown
Hamilton County (Fam)
browndn@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2008

Beth Kirkland
Madison County
kirkland@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2008
 

John Holmes
Wright County (Ag)
jdholmes@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2009

Northeast

Jim Hill (Chair)
Hancock County (Ag)
jhhill@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2008
Sue Barnes
Howard County
skbarnes@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2008
Sally Van Wert
Franklin County
jsvw@willowtree.com
Term Ending: 2006
Donna Andrusyk (Secretary)
Bremer County (Fam)
andrusyk@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2006

Northwest

Cheryl Heronemus (Vice Chair)
Sioux County (4-H)
hero@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2007
Pat Johnson
Emmet County
patj@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2007
 

Amy Fuglestad-Nahnsen
Plymouth County (4-H)
amyfn@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2008

Southeast Gary Bickmeier
Keokuk County (Ag)
gary@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2007
 

Margaret Mordan
Monroe County
cmmordan@lisco.com
Term Ending: 2007

Tim Eggers
Page County (Ag)
teggers@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2006

Southwest

Marry Ottmar
Audubon County (4-H)
ottmar@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2007

Carole Gorham
Harrison County
csgorham@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2007

Diane Ferguson
Page County
dferguson@heartland.net
Term Ending: 2007

Mary Weinand
Jefferson County
mweinand@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2009

Administration

Don Nitchie, Area Extension Education Director - nitchie@iastate.edu

Nancy McConnell, Area Secretary - nmccon@iastate.edu

Myrt Hanson, Secretary to Associate Vice Provost for Extension - myrt@iastate.edu

Kaela Black, Technical Support - kblack@iastate.edu

Ex-Officio Chair

 

Marsha Fleming Montgomery County mfleming@iastate.edu
Term Ending: 2005
2006 Meeting

 

 

 

Current Sub Committees - For October 2004-September 2005

Section 1 - Extension Organization

Janet Smith - Chair
Julie Hackbarth
Nancy Johnson

Section 2 - Extension Council

Marsha Fleming - Chair

 

Section 3 - Marketing & Image

Darwin Miller - Chair
Tammy Mulford
Donna Andrusyk

Section 4 - Office Operations

Terry Torneten - Chair
Allison Morgan
Wendy Peterson

Section 5 - Filing & Forms

Allison Morgan - Chair

Section 6 - Insurance

Terry Janssen - Chair
Anita Jeltema
Mike Fowler

Section 7 - Extension Policies

Tim Eggers - Chair

Section 8 - Personnel Mgt & Resources

Anita Jeltema - Chair

Section 9 - Finance

Cal Johannes
Jan Pohl

Section 10 - Educational Resources

Janet Smith - Chair
Julie Hackbarth
Nancy Johnson

Section 11 - Technology

Jim Hill - Chair
Marsha Fleming
Tim Eggers

Section 12 - Program Planning & Reporting

Donna Andrusyk - Chair

With the change in area boundaries, we looked at our composition and recommend the following composition for the future:

  • 5 County Extension Education Directors (one per area) on 2-year terms
  • 5 Office Assistants (one per area) on 2-year terms
  • 3 Field Specialists (one Ag, one Family, and one 4-H & Youth) on staggered 3-year terms NOTE: We are not ignoring the considerable contributions of Community and CIRAS staff, but due to their heavy work loads, we decided to not ask them to serve.
  • 2 IACEC representatives on 2-year terms.
  • And the Administration aspect would contain: Associate Vice Provost for Extension, Secretary to the AVP for Extension, 1 Area Extension Education Director, 1 Area Office OA from the same area, and 1 technical support person.

Minutes from Past Meetings & Teleconferences

September 1999 Meeting

August 8, 2001 Meeting (Planning for Annual Meeting)

September 6, 2001 - Annual Meeting

September 6, 2002 - Teleconference

October 9, 2002 - Annual Meeting

May 7, 2003 Teleconference (Sub Committee Updates)

October 2, 2003 Teleconference (Planning for Annual Meeting)

October 8, 2003 - Annual Meeting

Power Point Presentations

A Living Document - How it all began!

A Brief Overview of the Handbook - To be presented at meetings, etc. to get the word out.

Using this Guide

The first edition of the Extension Field and County Operations Guide consists of this introduction, 11 sections on various procedures used by field and county extension staff, an index, and seven appendices containing frequently-used resources. Each of the sections is divided into subsections by topic to reduce file sizes, keep web loading times to a minimum, and allow for easy updating. The total guide consists of 52 World Wide Web files. Each of these files can be printed separately, allowing users to have their own paper copies of as much of the guide as desired. Initially, two paper copies of the guide are being distributed to each county, consisting of approximately 350 pages each. Future updates will be available only through downloads of web pages.

Printing tips

If you are only wanting to print a page or two out of an entire section, you must be using Internet Explorer. Highlight the selection that you want to print, then to go File, Print, and then under Page Range, selection the button for Selection. This will then print off just what you have highlighted.

Interpretation and further information

If you need explanations, interpretations, or further information on any of the material contained in this guide, please contact your administrative supervisor, area director, or the administrator in charge of the content in question.

Comments and suggestions

The Extension Field and County Operations Guide is updated as needed. Check Revised dates at the end of each section to determine whether your printed copy is the most current version. Quarterly summary sheets of changes will be distributed, and the Table of Contents also includes dates for all sections revised after April 2000. If you have suggestions or comments that you would like to have considered for these revisions, please contact a member of the committee listed above.


Introduction Return to top

Table of Contents | Index | First Section |

Revised September 24, 2004. Content questions? Ask the experts.
Comments or suggestions? Contact the committee, (e-mail: ofcguide@iastate.edu)