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| navigate: home: magazine: spring 2002: article | |
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Course for landscape designers blossoms from collaborative effort By Kerry A. Newman | |||||||
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The cultivation of a relationship between Penn State Cooperative Extension and Penn State Delaware County Continuing Education has resulted in the development of a computer-aided design (CAD) course for landscape designers. The Computer Aided-Design for Landscape Designers noncredit course was first delivered in the winter after professionals from Cooperative Extension and Continuing Education discovered both units possessed resources and expertise that could be used to aid landscape designers within their operational area. “This initiative is a prime example of how collaborations among Penn State’s outreach partners result in strong programming targeted to the needs of businesses and communities,” Dr. Theodore R. Alter, associate vice president for outreach, director of Cooperative Extension and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences, said. The idea for the program originated, in part, because of the depth of knowledge the Cooperative Extension and Continuing Education professionals possess about the residents of their region. Extension agents, for instance, work closely with professionals from the green industry within their service area. According to Frederick W. Davis, regional director for the Southeast Region of Cooperative Extension and Outreach, the green industry, which includes horticulture and landscaping, is an important sector of commerce within the area. Cooperative Extension agents possess a good understanding of how the industry operates and what their audience needs; 13 agents within the region specialize in horticulture. The goal of offering a CAD course to landscape designers was to help them learn computer design skills that they could implement on the job. “It is for them to use in their everyday work; to make their work easier, more convenient, to create more of their designs in less amount of time,” said Jennifer Siegel, Continuing Education area representative at Penn State Delaware County who orchestrated the development and delivery of the program. While the Cooperative Extension agents understood the professional needs of the landscape designers, Penn State Delaware County Continuing Education possessed the key resources needed for delivering a computer-aided design course. The Delaware County campus housed a state-of-the-art computer lab that could be used to teach CAD programs to the landscape designers. Davis and Dr. Edward Tomezsko, campus executive officer of Penn State Delaware County, identified that by pooling their resources, they could establish this unique program. “Over the course of three to four meetings, we identified through our discussions that Continuing Education had the resources and the technology,” Davis said. After establishing that Continuing Education could provide the facilities and faculty, Cooperative Extension provided invaluable insight about the target audience. While designing the program, Siegel partnered with Cooperative Extension agent Nancy Bosold to conduct marketing research. By using an extensive mailing list maintained by Cooperative Extension, they sent a survey to about 1,800 landscape professionals within the area. By capturing information about their audience, they were able to evaluate the landscapers’ preferences and determine what type of curriculum would best meet their needs. “There was very strong interest in the program,” Siegel said. The first offering of the course was held over an eight-week period, with each class meeting two evenings per week. Based on the success of the first offering, plans are under way to hold the introductory course again in 2002. A second, intermediate-level course is also being designed and may be delivered later this year. “Once we have a core group of people who have gone through the introductory session, then we will go forward and offer an intermediate program,” Siegel said. “Many of the participants were eager to move forward and learn more.” The developers are optimistic that the second year of expanded programming will provide more opportunities for landscape designers to learn skills that can enhance their careers. The students in the first program consisted of professionals with little or no experience with computer-aided design. While the technology is not new to the field, Siegel expressed that program participants who came from independently owned or small firms may not have had access to the resources and professional development opportunities available to designers who work for large firms. “The collaboration between Penn State Cooperative Extension and Penn State Continuing Education units in Delaware County illustrates how valuable partnerships can be to communities,” Dr. Patricia A. Book, associate vice president for outreach and executive director of the Division of Continuing Education, said. “In this case, by combining talents and sharing information, a program was custom-developed for a niche market whose educational needs could easily have been overlooked.” Davis believes future partnerships will continue to blossom as a result of the strong working relationships that Continuing Education and Cooperative Extension foster with one another and with their constituents. “The collaboration evolved out of a vision,” Davis said. “It’s a great example of what can happen when you identify a need and identify the resources that are available.” For more information about the CAD program for landscape designers, contact Jennifer Siegel at the Penn State Delaware County Continuing Education office at 610-892-1309 or visit the Web site at www.de.psu.edu/ce/. For more information about Cooperative Extension in southeastern Pennsylvania, contact Frederick Davis at 610-378-4362 or visit www.extension.psu.edu/seregion/. An outreach program of Penn State Cooperative Extension and Penn State Delaware County Continuing Education | ||||||
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