Multiple Program Areas Can Implement Signature Programs Together

To help Extension professionals explore ways each program area can participate in creation and delivery of a local Signature Program, we will highlight in upcoming issues of the Communiqué successful implementation by selected counties. Examples of measuring impact will also be shared. The first in the series is the Greene County Real Money Real World program led by Beth Bridgeman and Melanie Hart.

Real Money Real World (RMRW) has been offered in Greene County for the past nine years. Although marketed in the past as a 4-H program, it has always lent itself to collaboration across program areas. It is a particularly nice fit for youth development, family and consumer science, and community development educators, but we’ve had everyone involved at times over the years. Here are some examples of ways we have involved Extension staff across program areas:

• Because RMRW involves a simulation with 14 staffed booths, educators and program assistants often staff the booths in place of absent business volunteers.
• The FCS and 4-H educators both market the program to various county groups with whom they work, including the business, nonprofit and education communities.
• The FCS educator has offered this curriculum in the GRADS program.
• The FCS and 4-H educators both conduct train-the-trainer sessions in Greene County and statewide; and have co-taught at the Western Ohio Educator’s Association in-service.
• The 4-H and FCS program assistants have served as resource people, helping to make connections and offer names in the business community for possible booth staffing.
• We have also invited Extension advisory committee members, 4-H committee members and county commissioners to staff business booths so they can observe the program in action.

We measure impacts and outcomes by utilizing the evaluation forms developed specifically for the curriculum. These are completed by each student at the end of the simulation; results are entered into Zoomerang and tabulated via the OSU Extension Program Development and Evaluation office. Prior to the statewide data collection, we also utilized qualitative data collected from business volunteers, teachers and parents as well as students. RMRW is always a part of the yearly presentation at our legislative breakfast; and local legislators are not only aware of our program, but have referred the program to other clientele and citizen groups with whom they work.

In-Service Opportunity -- For more information on implementing RMRW in your own county, please participate in the professional development session for Extension professionals and their community partners - November 21, 10am-3pm at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. Registration is free for the first 100 registrants - compliments of Fifth-Third Bank; $25 each for additional participants. Registration is now open at www.ohio4h.org/register. Please complete a separate registration for each person attending - including your community partner(s). Registration closes on November 7 at noon. The complete announcement is attached.

Ohio Makes an Impact at Galaxy III

Ohio was well-represented at Galaxy III last month in Indianapolis. This past year, at least 29 OSU Extension personnel served on leadership and Galaxy planning committees. During the conference, 18 percent of the poster presentations were from Ohio (involving 101 Ohio personnel); and 13 percent of the refereed papers presented at concurrent sessions were from Ohio (involving 50 Ohio personnel). A complete list of the Ohio posters, presentations, and committee members at Galaxy is attached.

NCCEA Conference Update

The North Central Cooperative Extension Association annual meeting was held last week in Kansas City for deans/directors and state program leaders. Several Ohio leaders participated this year in extensive discussions about the farm bill, budgets, and priorities in Extension. It was noted that most of the North Central region states are dealing with the same financial and organizational issues that Ohio is facing. This conference is an excellent opportunity for administrators in the North Central member states to learn about national Extension efforts, network across state lines, and plan ways that states can partner on projects. For example, several of Ohio's community development efforts in Ohio actually reflect impact and outcome measurements from a north central regional perspective - this will be available via URS reports.

Director’s Internal Advisory Committee Report

A meeting of the Director’s Internal Advisory Committee was held on September 26, with attendance from across the state as well as state specialists. A number of updates were given from each of the participants on county and state programs indicating activities, workshops, etc. that are being conducted throughout the state and at the state level. Keith also shared with the group how proud he was of the showing at the Galaxy III conference. This is a tremendous accomplishment from one state when all 50 states were represented. The main discussion item was the budget and repercussions from the budget. More information will be shared with the organization in upcoming Communiqués and video communiqués  as available. Keith appreciated the input he received from the advisory committee with suggestions on how to deal with the budget cuts recently received from the Governor. The next Director’s Internal Advisory Committee meeting will be December 19, from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in room 111 of the Agricultural Administration Building in Columbus.

Multi-State and Integrated Requirements for Federal Monies

Beginning October 1, the USDA is requiring that we spend 25 percent of our federally appropriated money on multi-state activities and 25 percent on integrated research activities. This is up from 5 percent and 7 percent in 2007. It amounts to about $2,500,000 in multi-state and $2,500,000 in integrated research.

As a reminder, here are the definitions of each:

• Integrated research and extension is jointly planned, funded, and interwoven activities between research and extension to solve problems. This includes the generation of knowledge and the transfer of information and technology. Integrated activities may include coordinating committees, attending and preparing for workshops, creating and delivering training material, projects and meetings.
• Multi-state activity is collaborative efforts that reflect the programs of institutions located in at least two or more states or territories. Examples may include contracts, grants, coordinating committees, attending and preparing for workshops, creating and delivering training material, projects and meetings that involve more than one state. Time spent on grants and contracts counts as long as your time for the activity isn't being paid by that grant or contract. You cannot count the time of volunteers or others in your office. Track activities separately by business purpose.

OSU Extension has asked for a waiver to allow us to ramp up our efforts to reach the 25 percent over a multi-year period, and also logged a complaint about the administrative burden the new guidance is causing state universities - but we have not yet learned the results of this waiver request. There are other nationwide efforts in process to change the legislation, but as we all know, this can be a long process.

To try to meet the 25 percent requirement, we are implementing several new processes:

• Academic department funding has now been moved in part to federal funds to take advantage of joint OSUE, OARDC efforts.
• The travel request form has been changed to capture travel related to multi-state and integrated research activities.
• Changes are being made to help better track this activity in the URS.
• A bi-monthly survey will be sent to Extension employees who are partially funded by federal funds to capture the time spent on these activities.

These and many other ideas were discussed with three separate committees which represented a cross-section of our many different types of employees including state staff, county educators, county directors, regional directors, and support staff. It was agreed that in the absence of a waiver to allow more time to ramp up our efforts, we have little choice but to begin tracking this information manually. If you are partially funded by federal funds, Cindy Buxton has already contacted you with instructions on how to start tracking your time and what can be counted.

It is absolutely critical that we comply with this regulation. We know this is an inconvenience, and we will continually review the new processes to eliminate duplicate reporting and to inconvenience as few people as possible while still receiving the funding allocated to Extension. Tracking your time on these items began on October 1. The first survey will be sent on December 1 for the time period October 1-November 30.

Cindy is eager to discuss other possible solutions to this, so if you have ideas other than those listed above, please call 614-292-6979 or email buxton.65@osu.edu. Thank you for your participation and consideration of our efforts to comply with this policy.

Increased WebEx Access Now Available

The statewide use of WebEx has been growing. So, to facilitate that growth and to assist in properly utilizing the system available, we have increased the number of license holders for Extension programming. The individuals noted below will be able to help you schedule a WebEx meeting. In an effort to distribute use across all license holders, we have noted priority contacts for each host. Any host may assist in scheduling a meeting, but please first contact the individual with noted priority for your group.

Please Note:  We are only able to schedule one meeting per license at a specific time. Currently, we can hold up to nine meetings at any one time across our system. By contacting one of the individuals below, you may schedule a meeting; if your requested meeting time is already allotted to another group, they will refer you to another host on the list to assist in scheduling.

• Bonnie Scranton (scranton.9): host for C&T teams and training efforts
• Debby Lewis (lewis.205): host for PDE and training efforts
• Kim Fiebig (fiebig.6): host for HR and training efforts
• Micki Daniels (daniels.14): host for administration and impact leaders
• Lisa Jinks/Archer (jinks.2): host for 4-H, FCS, specialists and specialization teams 
• Lisa Troyer (troyer.43): host for CD, ANR, specialists and specialization teams
• Beth Rigsby (rigsby.22): host for specialists and specialization teams
• Cheryl Fischnich (fischnich.1): host for regional and county meetings
• Rob Luikart (luikart.7): administrator - questions and assistance

These hosts will assist you in scheduling a WebEx meeting. For assistance in learning how to use WebEx, please contact Rob Luikart or Jim Elder.

Unified Reporting System (URS) Update

The deadline for the 2008 URS report is January 15, 2009.

We are changing URS to reflect the strategic plan. These are not HUGE changes.

• In March, the seven themes were replaced with the four impact areas of the strategic plan.
• Last week, the six Signature Programs were added to the list of POAs (they appear at the top of the dropdown list POAs 81-86).
• This month, a list of appropriate outcomes/indicators will be added for each signature program (accessible under the “INDICATOR” button).

There is a URS WebEx training module on the PDE Web site that can be viewed at any time. (http://pde-cms.ag.ohio-state.edu/unified-reporting-system). Contact Debby Lewis (lewis.205@osu.edu or 614-292-5089) to set up URS training dates. We have found that WebEx is a very useful tool to train people how to use URS.

EEET Forms Are Updated...Check Them Out!

Program Development and Evaluation has revamped two of the Evaluation of Effective Extension Teaching (EEET) forms. Both of the new forms are currently available on our Web site: http://pde-cms.ag.ohio-state.edu/EEETs/eeet-forms/.

The updated forms include:

• Cover sheet: This form is to be included with all mailings of EEETs to the PDE office. This form can be filled out online and printed for mailing with your completed forms. If you are teaching with other educators, please remember to fill out a cover sheet for EACH instructor.
• Multiple-Instructor EEET: This EEET format is to be used when multiple instructors are presenting together. This form can also be filled out online, then printed. Cool new feature...fill out instructor names on the front and the form auto-fills the columns on the back for you!

You will need Adobe Acrobat or Reader (version 7.0 or later). You can find a link on our Web site to the Adobe Web site to download a free copy of Reader. We recommend that you always print your forms from our site, rather than saving the pdfs on your computer. This way you are guaranteed to be using the most up-to-date versions of all our forms.

Please bookmark our home page: http://pde-cms.ag.ohio-state.edu/. If you have any questions about the use of our site or our forms, please feel free to contact Debby Lewis (lewis.205@osu.edu; 614-292-5089) or Kim Bahnsen (bahnsen.8@osu.edu; 614-292-0179).

PDE Offers Help with Online Surveys

The Program Development and Evaluation (PDE) Unit offers training, review, and development of online surveys at your request.

For those who are new to online surveys, we offer training for groups or individuals who would like to purchase either a Zoomerang or Survey Monkey account. We also provide training on survey set-up, formatting, and management. For those who are somewhat familiar with online surveys, we offer assistance with reviewing the formatting and style of your survey questions. For those who just don’t have the time and/or budget to purchase an on-line survey subscription, you can submit a request and let us take care of the rest! We will help you create a dynamic, online survey at no cost (applies only to those who work within Extension).

The PDE staff are happy to be a resource to everyone in Extension. For more information about online surveys and other services provided by the PDE Unit, visit our Web site at http://pde-cms.ag.ohio-state.edu/survey-requests.

Debby Lewis Named as Interim Leader, PDE

Effective October 1, Debby Lewis has been appointed as Interim Leader of the Program Development and Evaluation Unit for OSU Extension. This is a six-month appointment.

OSUE Retirees Blog

Eleanor Ames, OSU Extension emeritus, has recently set up an OSUE Retirees Blog where anyone can post comments and share information to keep in touch with fellow retirees at http://www.osueretiree.blogspot.com/. If you want to share this URL with anyone, please do. If you have any questions, please contact El & Al Ames, 1852 U.S. Highway Business 340, Luray, VA 22835, elalames@embarqmail.com.

2008 Community Nutrition Conference for EFNEP and FNP Professionals

Registration for the November 5-6, 2008 Community Nutrition Conference for EFNEP and FNP Professionals is now open. The conference will feature presentations from Joye Norris, Lisa Hamler Fujitt, and Karen Hinshaw. Joye Noris is an education consultant for Carolina Learning Designs and author of the book From Telling to Teaching. Lisa Hamler Fujitt is Executive Director of Ohio Association of Second Harvest. Karen Hinshaw is an Extension Educator for Huntington County-Purdue Extension Service.

Please go to http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~cteh/cgi/EventHandler.pl?action=entryform&filename=event17&id=emeere to register. The registration cost is $120; registration deadline is Friday, October 17. The conference will be held at the Quest Business Center in Columbus.

Tri-State Diversity Conference - February 2009

The Tri-State Diversity Conference will be held on February 5-6, 2009 in Cincinnati. The theme is Tomorrow's Solutions for Today's Problems. Registration and program information can be found at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/Dearborn/diversityconf.htm. The conference is sponsored by Ohio State University Extension, Purdue Extension, Kentucky State University, and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.

Patterson Lecture - Save the Date

The sixth annual James F. Patterson Land-Grant University Lecture will be held on April 24, 2009 - 11am-1:30pm - at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, will be the featured speaker.

Political Activities - Message from OSU Provost Alutto

A number of questions have been raised about participation in local, regional, and national policy debates. Our legal counsel has determined that we must make absolutely certain that we limit university involvement in partisan political activities. If there is any sense that this is the goal or purpose of an event, it should not have university sponsorship. Such events can be organized only by student groups, and there are guidelines as to processes for securing facilities, etc.

However, events designed to provide bipartisan information, examine political issues from all perspectives, engage in policy debates with multiple perspectives involved, present debates involving multiple political party representatives, etc., are certainly appropriate for university sponsorship and organization. While we would expect those events involving national figures to be coordinated centrally, if only for the logistics of security, publicity, facilities, etc., any academic unit of the university can be involved in hosting such events.

Thus, a proposal to have a conference/debate involving key spokespersons for and against a legislative proposal or public policy, regardless of whether at the local or national level, is something that could and should be organized by a university academic unit. To the extent that major national attention would be drawn to campus, we would expect the academic unit to coordinate with the president's office, if only to facilitate securing the infrastructure needed to have a successful event.

I hope this helps clarify some of the concerns that have been raised. This is an exciting and important time in our political history, and it is wonderful to observe the level of interest that has been generated. We simply need to follow an approach that ensures the university will be seen as a base for impartial discourse.

October 2008 Professional Development Opportunities from eXtension

eXtension's professional development opportunities are open to all Cooperative Extension faculty, staff and employees. No pre-registration is necessary. The October "30 Minute Sessions" include:

* October 9 at 2pm ET - How to use the new Ask eXtension Widget by Aaron Hundley, eXtension software engineer. This widget adds question-asking capabilities to your site or Extension-related blog, but uses the eXtension Ask an Expert and FAQ systems (with 40,000 questions on file) to assist you in answering and monitoring questions. This session will introduce you to the new tool, show you the latest features, and discuss how to begin using it immediately.

* October 13 at 2pm ET - Introduction to Second Life by LuAnn Phillips, eXtension Second Life educator. This is a quick peek at some current educational uses of Second Life, the rationale for trying it, and how to get started.

* October 15 at 2pm ET - Using the Collaborate Wiki by Beth Raney, eXtension professional development leader. Learn what you need to do to get started working in the Collaborate Wiki, and see some examples of how others are using it today.

* October 23 at 2pm ET - InstantSurvey: Results and Reports (Session 3) by Michael Lambur, eXtension evaluation and research leader. This session will focus on accessing results and generating reports of online surveys using the InstantSurvey web-based application available to eXtension CoPs.

* October 30 at 2pm ET - Finding Extension Resources Through the Google Custom Search Engine (Google CSE) by Kevin Gamble, associate director of eXtension. Learn how to use http://search.extension.org/ to search the vast resources of the Cooperative Extension System. Also learn how to use Google search technology to create a free Custom Search Engine that reflects your knowledge and interests, how to place a custom widget on your own Web site, and how you can participate in a collaborative environment to further customize and make the search results better.

Other sessions...

* October 22, 2-3pm ET - Top 10 Tech Tools for Extension Agents by Dave Palmer, University of Florida. Extension educators can use the Web to reduce their workload, increase productivity, disseminate information, and offer online learning modules using these Web-related tech tools. This session is offered in partnership with the ACE Information Technology SIG.

These sessions are held in our Web Conferencing Center at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn and your telephone. Plan to join the session 5 minutes before the starting time. Instructions are attached.

Recordings of many past professional development sessions can be found at the main eXtension wiki at http://about.eXtension.org/wiki. Scroll down under the Professional Development heading to find "Recordings of eXtension Professional Development Sessions" or search on the word Recordings.