on the Web
Session 1 - Welcome to the NDSU Extension Service
Session 2 - Who We Are and What We Do
Session 3 - Policies and Procedures
Session 4 - Information Technology
Session 6 - The Land-Grant University
Session 7 - Program Development and Educational
Design
Session 8 - Evaluation
Session 9 - 4-H Youth Development
Session 10 - Personalizing Your Programs
Session 11 - Professional Development
Session 12 - Working with Differences
Session 13 - Balancing Work and Personal Life
Session 14 - Organizational Management
Session 15 - Volunteer Management
Contacts
If there’s anything that can be done to make your first year with the NDSU
Extension Service better, please contact your supervisor (district director,
assistant director or department chair) or Deb Gebeke, Assistant Director, Staff Development.
debra.gebeke@ndsu.edu
The NDSU Extension Service is part of the Cooperative Extension System, a nationwide partnership composed of three distinct but related and coordinated bodies:
- the federal partner, the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
- the state partner, 103 total land-grant universities in each state and several U.S. territories and possessions
- the county partner, elected or appointed boards in 3,150 county units.
North Dakota has six land-grant universities:
- North Dakota State University, Fargo
- United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck
- Sitting Bull College, Fort Yates
- Fort Berthold Community College, New Town
- Turtle Mountain Community College, Belcourt
- Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Fort Totten
You’ll learn more about the land-grant university system later in another Web lesson.
North Dakota has 53 counties. Stark and Billings counties share an Extension office in Dickinson and Fort Berthold has a separate office in New Town, so there are a total of 53 county Extension offices in the state.
In North Dakota, county
commissioners, auditors, and Extension district directors
cooperate to oversee county Extension personnel and
budgets.
Extension Programming
The NDSU Extension Service educational programming consists of four overall categories:
- Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Community Economic Development and Leadership
- Family and Consumer Sciences
- 4-H Youth Development
The NDSU Extension Service workers need specific skills to carry out
their jobs. A work team with input from many staff created a framework
to identify and support the areas of expertise that the NDSU Extension
Service employees need to do their jobs.
The five competencies identified to be an effective Extension worker
are:
- Subject Matter
- Communication
- Information and Educational Technology
- Personal and Organizational Management
- Program Development and Educational Design
General Knowledge
All county agents are expected to have
a certain level of knowledge of all aspects of:
Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR)
or
Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS)
The ANR and FCS general knowledge competencies both include some basic
topics in 4-H Youth Development and Community, Economic Development and
Leadership. As a new staff member you will be provided with
opportunities to assess your general knowledge level and to plan for
educational opportunities to help you learn more.
Each competency is defined below.
- Subject Matter Competency
The skill to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a recognized discipline, and to understand and communicate the science and application as it relates to other disciplines.
Subject matter competency is divided into 10 specialized subject matter areas:
- Animal Systems
- Community, Economic Development and Leadership
- Cropping Systems
- Family Economics
- Farm Business Management and Economics
- 4-H Youth Development
- Horticulture and Forestry
- Human Development and Family Science
- Natural Resources and Environmental Management
- Nutrition, Food Safety and Health
- Communication Competency
The skill of listening; developing and conveying a clear, concise message appropriate for the audience; and gathering feedback.
- Information and Educational Technology
Competency
The skill of using basic and innovative tools to effectively reach and teach our audiences, work and communicate effectively, management time and resources, and enhance our ability to find, evaluate and disseminate information.
- Personal and Organizational Management
Competency
The skill of conducting oneself professionally, and handling the work environment, time, and resources and expenditures efficiently to accomplish the purpose of the organization.
- Program Development and Educational Design
Competency
The skill to assess needs and issues, and develop, deliver and evaluate comprehensive learning experiences that help youth and adults enhance their lives and communities.
Extension Staffing
A strength of the NDSU Extension Service is the blend of county, area and state staff to support programming.
Some county staff are employed part time, and some serve more than one county. County support staff aren’t shown on this map since they are considered county employees rather than NDSU Extension employees.
Area specialists are located throughout the state, many based at NDSU Research Extension Centers. These people have very focused areas of work/research. Check out the link to learn about them.
State specialists at NDSU support programming across the state. State Specialists are responsible for assessing the needs of North Dakotans and the emphasis coming from a national level. They also keep current with research in their field and complete their own research and publishing. All of this information is synthesized to help lead the program planning identified as critical by county staff.
State Leadership
- Agriculture and Natural Resources — Roger Haugen, Assistant Director
- Family and Consumer Sciences — Deb Gebeke, Assistant Director
- 4-H Youth Development — Brad Cogdill, Chair, Center for 4-H Youth Development
Ag Cabinet - A group comprised of the Vice President for Agriculture and University Extension; the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources who is also the Director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station; and the Director of the NDSU Extension Service. Their function is to work together in an integrated environment to enhance the broad spectrum of research, extension and academic programs in agriculture and university extension.
Extension Leadership Team - A team who is responsible for establishment and implementation of policies and procedures relating to extension programs, personnel, budget and public relations. The team is comprised of the Extension Director, assistant directors, district directors, the Ag Communication Director, the Assistant to the Director, and the directors of the Centers for 4-H Youth Development and Community Vitality.
Program Council - A group comprised of program planning team chairs, program leaders, department heads/chairs, district directors, the Extension Director, Ag Communication Director and other communication staff who focus on extension program planning, program delivery, and faculty and staff in-service training.
County and area staff cooperate through the 10 Multicounty Program Units. Each full-time Extension agent is expected to provide program leadership for at least one major program emphasis effort in the unit each year. Try to think of it as working without geographical boundaries. County staff are hired to serve their county and expected to develop an area of expertise. When all the "experts" of one subject area work together to address a need we call it a multi-county program or a "community of Interest." For example, a drought in neighboring counties could lead to a multi-county program developed by a team of county and state specialists, but delivered or taught by local county agriculture agents.
Another example of a "community of interest" could develop to identify an emerging issue or specific program. Currently the NDSU Extension Service is addressing new requirements for federal evaluation reporting. A call for interested partners may go out to all staff and a small group may emerge to begin addressing the issue.
District Directors work with staff in the units.
- Units 1, 2 and 7 — Northwest District — Mike Hanson
- Units 3 and 4 — Northeast District — Margaret Tweten
- Unit 5 — Southeast District — Margaret Tweten
- Unit 6 — Southeast District — Roger Haugen
- Units 8, 9 and 10 — Southwest District — Gerald Sturn
- Fort Berthold (portions in units 1, 9 and 10) — Jay Fisher
Extension Funding
Extension can’t do its job without people, and 82 percent of the NDSU Extension Service’s budget goes toward staff salaries and wages. That means about 18% goes to overall operating & equipment expense so staff have the tools to do their jobs.
You’ll refer to the Extension Staff Directory often during your career. Go to the Extension home page on the web: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/ . Do some browsing to become familiar with the site. Click on NDSU Extension Service Directory, and print out this directory to have the entire NDSU Extension Service at your fingertips. You should have received a set of tabs so you can keep an organized hard copy handy. If not, contact Lori Lymburner at ext-dir@ndsuext.nodak.edu.
You’ll serve on a Program Planning Team based on your subject matter expertise. If you don’t know which team you’re on, visit with your supervisor.
Government agencies are too well known for speaking in acronyms, and Extension is no exception. Print out this list of Extension acronyms, and keep it in your new staff notebook for future reference.
NDSU Extension also has a number of
special grant-funded programs. You will become familiar
with these over time. One of the most significant is FNP
- Family Nutrition Program. The Federal Government offers grants to
support low-income families in becoming more knowledgeable about
nutrition and healthy eating choices. Federal money must be matched by
state in-kind funds to be eligible. Last year the program employed 24.06 FTE and
operated a $1.5 million program in North Dakota.
Professional Organizations of the NDSU Extension Service
Next Session
Details, details. Following the correct policies and procedures can make your life much easier.