AN ANALYSIS OF ONLINE EXAMINATIONS IN COLLEGE COURSES

This research evaluates the use of online examinations in college courses from both instructor and student perspectives. Instructional software was developed at Kansas State University to administer online homework assignments and examinations. Survey data were collected from two classes to measure and evaluate the level of student preferences for online examinations. The statistical determinants of student preferences for online testing were identfied and quantified using logistic regression analysis. Strategies for the effective use of online examinations are summarized for potential adopters of online examinations.online examinations, student learning, teaching technology, undergraduate teaching, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, A22,

AN ANALYSIS OF ONLINE EXAMINATIONS IN COLLEGE COURSES

This research evaluates the use of online examinations in college courses from both instructor and student perspectives. Instructional software was developed at Kansas State University to administer online homework assignments and examinations. Survey data were collected from two classes to measure the level of student support for online examinations. The determinants of the level of student support for online testing were identified and quantified using logistic regression analysis.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

“Academic Coaching” for Enhanced Learning, Higher Levels of Student Responsibility, and Greater Retention

The relationship between teachers and students has changed. Many writers have put forth hypotheses and ideas about how the current generation of students (Gen‐Y; the “Me Generation”) differs from previous generations. Others focus on teaching methods, course strategies, and technological tools that are effective in the new environment. The objective of this research is to investigate the possibility of “academic coaching” for enhanced student responsibility, higher levels of learning, and greater retention. The concept of “academic coaching” refers to a relationship between teachers and students that is proactive, responsive to student learning outcomes, and committed to student success. The teacher/learner relationship becomes less like a formal instructor and more like a coach.academic coaching, effective teaching, generational change, teaching practices, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

LABOR MOBILITY AMONG AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE GRADUATES: A HUMAN CAPITAL APPROACH

Determinants of job mobility and job advancement were motivated from a model of investment in human capital. Least squares and Tobit models were specified and estimated using data from a recent survey of Kansas State University College of Agriculture graduates. Determinants of job turnover and the number of promotions earned were quantified. Job change and job advancement were found to occur early in the careers of agriculture college alumni. Job experience was found to be the most significant determinant of labor mobility and promotion. Personal and occupational characteristics were found to have significant but small impacts on labor mobility and advancement.Labor and Human Capital,

THE FUTURE OF TEACHING UNDERGRADUATE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS: LIFELONG LEARNING IN AN ERA OF RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

The need for institutions of higher education to teach students of all ages how to think, synthesize ideas, and assimilate new information has become crucial in the information age. Analytical ability is increasingly important, not only for traditional university clientele of young adult residential learners, but also for productive individuals throughout their lives. Agricultural economics teachers must invest in the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, including a willingness to change traditional teaching structures and institutions, to take full advantage of the huge opportunities and challenges of the massive changes in technology and the economy. This paper considers how well teaching programs in agricultural economics enhance student learning.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Declining Commodity Program Payments and Enhanced Environmental Regulations: Impacts on Acreage Allocation in the Great Plains

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Using Portfolio Theory to Enhance Wheat Yield Stability in Low-Income Nations: An Application in the Yaqui Valley of Northwestern Mexico

This study applies portfolio theory to wheat varietal selection decisions in order to find risk-minimizing outcomes while holding historical yields constant. Potential correlation across wheat cultivar yields increases the complexity of cultivar selection decisions, with gains in one attribute (yield potential) often associated with losses in another (yield stability). Using location-specific empirical data, portfolio theory can provide producers in low-income countries a tool for developing a recommended portfolio of varieties given a desired risk-aversion level. Based on data from Mexico’s Yaqui Valley, results suggest that sowing a portfolio of wheat varieties could have lowered yield variance by 22% to 33% in Northwest Mexico.optimal variety selection, portfolio analysis, wheat, Crop Production/Industries,

The College and Career Experiences of Graduates of the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University 1978-1988

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

The Impact of the CIMMYT Wheat Breeding Program on Wheat Yields in Mexico's Yaqui Valley, 1990-2002: Implications for the Future of Public Wheat Breeding

CIMMYT has invested a large and significant amount of public expenditures in wheat breeding research each year for several decades. Estimates of the impact of the wheat breeding program on wheat yield increases provides information to scientists, administrators, and policy makers regarding the efficacy and the rate of return to these investments, providing important information for future funding decisions. Using CIMMYT test plot data from the Yaqui Valley in Mexico from 1990-2002, regression results indicate that the release of modern CIMMYT varieties has contributed approximately 53.77 kg/ha to yield annually. The growing conditions of the experiment fields located in the Yaqui Valley approximate 40% of the developing world's wheat growing conditions. A rough estimate of the gains attributed to CIMMYT's wheat breeding program on a global scale is 304 million (2002) USD annually during the period 1990-2002. CIMMYT's total wheat breeding cost in 2002 was approximately 6 million dollars, making the benefit cost ratio approximately 50 to 1.Crop Production/Industries,

TEACHING AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Rapid technological and economic change has been the defining characteristic of food production, processing, and consumption over the past several decades. Improvements in production techniques, business practices, and information assimilation have enhanced the role of public universities: the provision of knowledge and information by public universities has become increasingly necessary, urgent, and profitable. This trend is likely to continue into the future as rapid development of information technologies, globalization of markets, and natural sciences occur. The thesis of this paper is that the need for institutions of higher education to teach students of all ages how to think, synthesize competing ideas, and assimilate new information has become more critical and more urgent in the information age, or New Economy. Analytical ability and new knowledge in the economics of agriculture are increasingly important not only for the traditional university clientele of young adult residential learners, but also for productive women and men throughout their careers and lives. The original structure of the Land Grant Universities (Research, Extension, and Teaching) is well suited to accomplish this enhanced mission of providing lifelong education and information to producers, consumers, and decision-makers in the food and fiber industry. However, teachers of agricultural economics must invest heavily in the acquisition of new skills and knowledge and institutional change to take full advantage of the huge opportunities and challenges of the New Economy. This paper considers how well our traditional institutions, programs, and teaching practices in Agricultural Economics meet the objectives of student learning in a new era.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,