Providing students with hands-on learning and real-world experience is critical to future success. Undergraduate students at West Virginia University, as well as additional academic institutions across the state, will gain knowledge and expertise in program evaluation, applied research methods and data analysis, while simultaneously providing program evaluation support to WVU Extension program efforts in West Virginia. The program is supported through a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
WVU Davis College faculty, Haley Rosson, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education and project director, and Jessica Blythe, associate professor of agricultural and extension education and co-project director, along with Megan Kruger, WVU Extension evaluation and research specialist and co-project director, will work collaboratively to provide this unique opportunity for undergraduate students and Extension faculty through this joint partnership.
The $750,000 Extension Mentoring IN EvaluatION (MINION) grant will focus on increasing undergraduate students' knowledge and skills related to program evaluation methods and data analysis techniques, as well as developing a system of continued collaboration between undergraduate students and WVU Extension faculty and staff to enhance the evaluation of statewide WVU Extension programs.