James F. Evans Collection, This study was designed to describe the amount and kind of writing recent College of Agricultural Sciences baccalaureate degree graduates complete on the job, their perceptions of the importance of on-the-job writing, and the graduates' level of satisfaction with their writing preparation at Penn State. A questionnaire was mailed to 309 recent College of Agricultural Sciences alumni and 48.4% responded. The majority of respondents were white males (23-26 years old), worked in agriculture-related jobs in Pennsylvania, and earned between $20,000 and $29,999 a year. Respondents wrote less than eight hours a week and wrote a variety of forms such as letters, memos, and reports to different audiences. Respondents felt that the ability to write well was important, and in general, were satisfied with their undergraduate writing courses. (author).
Leal, Arthur (author), Telg, Ricky W. (author), Rumble, Joy N. (author), Stedman, Nicole LaMee Perez (author), Treise, Debbie M. (author), and Universit of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Florida
Association for Communication Excellence
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
United States: New Prairie Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 15 Document Number: D10428
22 pages., Via online journal., This national study sought to expand on current research to identify the importance of and graduates’ ability to perform selected social skills to aid in curricula evaluation and small program development. Using three evaluation groups – agricultural communication graduates, communication industry professionals, and agricultural communication faculty members – 193 individuals responded to the online survey. The most important social skills were those associated with having work values and transitioning into an organization to be a productive member in the workplace. Graduates placed a higher importance on social skills than the other two evaluation groups. All three evaluation groups showed some agreement on graduates’ highest ability to perform several social skills: The ability to be trustworthy, trained, reliable, professional, dedicated, and behave ethically were assigned the highest mean ability. A significant difference was found with the ability graduates afforded themselves in having common sense, being professional, and encompassing maturity versus the other two evaluation groups. Recommendations included incorporating and identifying social skills into instruction for students. Group work, presentations, internships, and student organizations were proposed as opportunities for social skill attainment. Agricultural leadership principles, oral communication, and professional development courses were recommended for new and developing agricultural communication programs that could serve to incorporate the most important social skills. Faculty members could benefit from research that can identify more effective measures to evaluate social skill attainment. Recommendations for future research included a similar assessment with technical skills and for other elements of the Agricultural Communication Program System Model to be assessed.
Boone, Kristina M. (author), Paulson, Curtis E. (author), Barrick, R. Kirby (author), and Department of Agricultural Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1993
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 96 Document Number: C07599
Recommendations from the Professional Development Committee of AAACE. They include sabbatical leaves, exchange appointments, short-term media experience (unpaid leave from college position). "Members of the association were emphatic in their statement that editors should be given the same privileges of sabbatical leave as other college workers and that they should develop their jobs and positions so that they would have a rank equivalent to that of any professorship on the campus."
3 pages., Via online journal., Increased global trade coupled with diversified employment opportunities demand college graduates possessing well-developed professional skills. Recent survey results identified the importance of professional skills among candidates seeking employment, with communication being recognized as the most important skill or quality when selecting candidates. The ability to work within a team structure, solve complex problems, and organize and prioritize work also ranked high among industry employment needs. Despite a rigorous focus on discipline-oriented knowledge and skills, development of professional skills in students of horticulture may be overlooked or not fully developed. Teaching methods can be modified to incorporate development of professional skills and discipline-oriented knowledge to enhance student employment preparedness and directly address industry needs.
