Growing online turfgrass program hits milestone - Tech Talk - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, July 4, 2002 by Ronald Roach

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA,

Pennsylvania State University officials recently announced that the World Campus online certificate program in turfgrass management reached the milestone of enrolling students in all 50 states. The milestone was reached this past spring semester for the program that is four years old, according to school officials.

"It's great we've extended our reach to all 50 states, but our goal is to reach worldwide. We won't be satisfied til we have students on every continent where turfgrass is important," says Al Turgeon, senior faculty coordinator for the World Campus program in turfgrass management program. When the program got under way, its first course--Introduction to Turfgrass Management--had only 10 students. Today it has grown to more than 1,400 enrollments and offers two certificates: Turfgrass Management and Advanced Turfgrass Management, according to Penn State officials. The program is even approved by Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) for external Continuing Education Units toward certification and re-certification. Turgeon hopes eventually to offer a master of agriculture degree program in turfgrass online.