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Online turfgrass program spreads across nation By Tut Bailey
	What grows faster than the grass on a spring day? Penn State’s World Campus online certificate program in turfgrass management. As of the spring semester, the online education program achieved the milestone of having students in all 50 states.   As significant as this achievement is, Dr. Al Turgeon, professor of turfgrass management and senior faculty coordinator for the World Campus program in turfgrass management, has his eyes set on a bigger prize. “It’s great we’ve extended our reach to all 50 states, but our goal is to reach worldwide. We won’t be satisfied till we have students on every continent where turfgrass is important,” he said.   The nationwide enrollment is significant on its own, but even more impressive when you consider that Penn State launched its Internet-based turfgrass program with a single course just four years ago. That first course, Introduction to Turfgrass Management, had only 10 students. Today, the program has grown to more than 1,400 enrollments and offers two certificates: Turfgrass Management and Advanced Turfgrass Management.   Penn State’s reputation in the turfgrass field is the leading factor in the program’s stunning growth. It is one of the premier programs in the country, and 80 percent of the turfgrass used worldwide was developed at Penn State. According to Turgeon, it is the faculty that makes the difference.   “It all depends on the people,” he said. “You want people who’ll aggressively pursue research, who see teaching as the primary activity, whose goal is communicating knowledge, but also developing human capital for the turfgrass industry.”   To earn a Turfgrass Management Certificate, students must complete five courses, earning 15 academic credits. Each course is completed over a 12-week period, similar to a traditional college semester. The Advanced Turfgrass Management Certificate program offers a more in-depth course of study. It includes all eight courses in the original turfgrass management program, plus three courses selected from a variety of complementary subjects, such as business management, speech communication and organic chemistry. The program is even approved by Golf Course Superintendents Association of America for external Continuing Education Units toward certification and recertification.   Penn State’s success stems from the fact that the program teaches turf practices that are applicable worldwide.   “What we teach are those basic principles that are relevant globally,” Turgeon said. “Our students need to be able to think globally about turfgrass issues and be able to apply those principles wherever they go.”   One difference in the World Campus program is that its students tend to encompass a broader age range, from 19 to 59. They tend to be a little older, with a variety of professional experiences. Add to that the broad geographic reach of the program, and the result is what Turgeon calls “banks” of knowledge on specific climates and conditions around the country. The experience and insight the students bring to the classes are very valuable. “It’s the closest thing to a true learning community. Everybody learns from everybody, even the instructors,” he said.   This exchange of information highlights one of the keys to successful online educational programs—student interaction. In the World Campus distance learning program, the students regularly correspond with each other, as well as with the instructors. Upon registration, students create personal Web pages to help the class get to know one another. They also work on assignments in groups.   “You supply resources for communication, as you do in any educational situation, but it’s what you do with those resources that makes a difference,” Turgeon said.   As the program’s enrollment grows, so does its curriculum. Turfgrass management course offerings will be expanded in the coming year. Turgeon hopes to offer a master of agriculture degree program in turfgrass online. In the meantime, he’s working toward his goal of enrolling students from every turfgrass-supporting continent. Students from 12 foreign countries have already participated in courses, and during the summer he traveled to Scotland, the birthplace of golf, to continue spreading the word about the World Campus and the Penn State turfgrass program.   Information about the World Campus Turfgrass Management Certificate program is available online at www.worldcampus.psu.edu/ pub/turf/index.shtml.
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu