Though continuing education is often a vibrant and thriving function in modern universities, paradoxically, little is known about the content and organization of the knowledge structures that continuing educators employ as they go about creating continuing education programs in university settings. Drawing upon the entrepreneurship literature (Mitchell and Chesteen, 1995; Mitchell, 2001), (Vesper, 1996) and the adult education program planning literature (Caffarella, 2002), this inquiry assesses the robustness and applicability of scripting as a method of examining this aspect of practice. / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to examine the administrative structure needed to coordinate the numerous institutions of higher education offering postsecondary degree programs on an Army installation. The study then identified the management problems and solutions to those problems, as perceived by Education Services Officers when coordinating among the participating institutions. The population consisted of representatives from eleven U.S. Army Continuing Education Services Centers.The Education Services Center representatives having the responsibility for coordinating the postsecondary programs were interviewed by telephone to collect the data. An interview form was designed to elicit non-directed responses to perceived major problems confronting the representatives, problems at Department of the Army and possible solutions to the problems.Education Services representatives encountered difficulty in providing a quality program during a period when on-Post program effectiveness was evaluated by Department of the Army. Major problems existed in the coordination among several institutions with differing administrative policies, requirements, and recognition of transfer credit.Solutions to the problems included the adoption of an Advisory Committee concept to assist in academic advisement and evaluation, the incorporation of evaluation in program, the development of guidelines for evaluation, and clarification of the requirement for negotiation of the institution agreement. Other recommendations were to develop more concise guidelines for quality assurance and evaluation, and for the closer correlation between academic needs of Army students and professional development needs of the U.S. Army. The reduction of the number of participating institutions was seen as a positive way to improve management and quality control of the on-Post programs.

The purpose of this study was to identify the critical factors for effective quality management in the Cooperative Extension System (CES) and develop an instrument that measured quality management performance in selected CES organizations as a means of identifying organizational training needs. Three procedures were applied in this study. First, critical factors of quality management were identified through a literature review and verified by an expert panel. Second, performance measures defining each critical factor were generated from the literature, approved by an iterative panel and assigned to scales. Finally, an instrument was developed and administered to a test population for purposes of establishing reliability and validity of the scales. Seven critical factors were identified that contributed to effective organization-wide quality management in the CES: (a) Administrative Support for Quality, (b) Strategic Quality Planning, (c) Continuous Quality Improvement, (d) Strategic Human Resources Management, (e) Quality Information and Analysis, (f) Clientele Satisfaction, and (g) Quality in Education and Training. Performance measures characterizing quality management were operationally defined from the literature, and approved by the iterative panel. An instrument, comprised of 69 performance measures, was designed and administered to a test population of Extension professionals, achieving a 91% response rate. Five of the critical factors including: (a) Administrative Support for Quality, (b) Strategic Quality Planning, (c) Strategic Human Resources Management, (d) Clientele Satisfaction, and (e) Quality in Education and Training, and seven of their corresponding scales, showed evidence of reliability and validity. The critical factors of Quality Information and Analysis and Clientele Satisfaction each had a scale that were reliable, but construct validity was not evident. The critical factors of Strategic Human Resources Management, and Quality in Education and Training each had a scale that did not show evidence of empirical utility. All three scales within the critical factor of Continuous Quality Improvement did not show evidence of empirical utility. This study offers a promising model for subsequent theory building and for more systematic research in assessing organization-wide training needs preceding the introduction of quality management technology in the Cooperative Extension System. / Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-94). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-94). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Michigan, 1973. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 320-328).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1964. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (carbon copy). Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-102).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreational Resources / Rhonda Janke / With the increasing popularity of urban farming, more people are seeking resources to start their own farming/growing production in urban environments. Traditionally, county Extension educators are a key resource for beginning farmers and growers. However, urban Extension offices are often overlooked as resources in the urban farming planning process. The objectives of this study are 1) identify information urban farmers currently have, information they need, and their preferred delivery methods 2) look at the resources and information that are offered by local Extension educators in the KC metro area and 3) analyze how these two groups are communicating and what could improve to meet farmers‟ needs. This project evaluates current interaction between urban farmers and Extension educators in the Kansas City area through a two-pronged approach: a written mail-out questionnaire for urban farmers and growers in the Kansas City metropolitan area and through in-person one-on-one interviews with Extension educators that emphasize topic areas related to urban agriculture in the KC area. One hundred and nineteen farmers/growers were surveyed, and a 54.6% response rate was achieved. The majority of farmers had small, diversified farms and were relatively new to farming. Respondents were primarily older, white men that had higher education. Independently-driven sources (such as self-research, other farmers, and friends/family) were most commonly used sources among farmers. Overall, respondents ranked Extension highly in terms of information quantity, quality and as their "go to" source. Extension educators from Kansas State University, University of Missouri, and Lincoln University were interviewed one-on-one using scripted interview questions to determine topics and medias of information that are currently being offered. Production and processing information is offered the most by educators followed by distribution, equipment, and marketing information. Financial information was the least offered information topic. Extension educators use a wide variety of methods to distribute information. Most Extension educators are aware of benefits and barriers relating to urban agriculture in the KC metro area. Extension educators are addressing urban agriculture in varying degrees and the level of involvement corresponds to the Extension institution.