Career and Technical Education Programs

Annual Update

  1. Certificate of Achievement’s and all degree programs must complete the entire document.
  2. Programs with stackable certificates complete Section I only and include this page in the related degree program review.

SECTION I
Name of Program: / TOP Code:
Certificate Name / JSC / CA / Is the certificate stackable? / Is the certificate a
stand alone program?
Plant Science / X / No

1. Do you have certificates that are proposed for addition?

YesX NoIf yes, list the certificates.

2. Do you have certificates that are proposed for deletion?

YesX NoIf yes, list the certificates.

SECTION II
Meets a Documented Labor Market Demand*
Source of information (check all that apply)
X / Bureau of Labor Statistics ( )
X / State of California Labor Market Information ( )
 / Advisory Committee Meeting held on (date): / Attach Minutes
X / Professional Association / CalAgCC.org
X / Other / EMSI Modeling Specialists
Findings / What are the projected annual openings and median salary?
According to the BLS, total technical level jobs in the plant sciences will increase about 7.5% in the U.S. in the next ten years. This is about the average for jobs needing college level degrees. And, according to CalAgCC, there will be an 8.1% increase in plant and soil science jobs from 2013 to 2018 in California with and the average annual salary for those jobs is $53,630 ( There were about 1,500 plant scientists and farm managers in our region in 2015 with about 170 openings per year, but only 22 completions per year from our region. So, almost all of positions are being filled with students from other regions. There was a 4% increase in the number of plant science positions and a 1% increase in the number of farm and ranch manager positions in 2015.
List the SOC codes (Occupational Titles and codes) in which students who complete the CA will be able to obtain entry-level employment.
01.0104Farm/Farm and Ranch Management
01.0105Agricultural/Farm Supplies Retailing and Wholesaling
01.0301Agricultural Production Operations, General
01.0304Crop Production
01.0308Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture
01.0309Viticulture and Enology
01.0399Agricultural Production Operations, Other
01.0701International Agriculture
01.0801Agricultural and Extension Education Services
01.0802Agricultural Communication/Journalism
01.0899Agricultural Public Services, Other
01.1101Plant Sciences, General
01.1102Agronomy and Crop Science
01.1104Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding
01.1105Plant Protection and Integrated Pest Management
01.1199Plant Sciences, Other
01.1201Soil Science and Agronomy, General
01.1299Soil Sciences, Other
01.9999Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences, Other
What are the number of jobs and percent change for the projected 5 year period?
There were 7,314 jobs in Kern County in plant sciences is 2015 with an expected increase of 5.6% over the next five years and an average pay of $25 per hour (EMSI Occupation Overview 2016).
Based on the data above, discuss how your CA/program/course meets labor market demand? (Include supporting data such as advisory committee input, surveys, industry feedback, licensing or accreditation agencies)
So, the data above shows that our Plant Science program falls way short of meeting the needs of local employers for plant science employees. However, to be fair, most of the jobs in plant science in the region are for employees with baccalaureate degrees and / or with Pest Control Advisor’s licenses or Certified Crop Advisor’s licenses (Industry and Advisory Committee feedback). Our program allows for students to take the necessary tests to become PCAs or CCAs, but it does not confer those licenses.
Address changes or gaps in core indicator results for the previous year. List the date of the core indicators, the score and discuss the finding.*
Core Indicator / Core Indicator Date / Program Percent / State Negotiated Performance Goal
Skill Attainment / 2015-16 / 96 / 88
Completions / 2015-16 / 83 / 82
Persistence / 2015-16 / 81 / 87
Employment / 2015-16 / 67 / 77
Non-Traditional Participation / 2015-16 / 35 / 19
Non-Traditional Completion / 2015-16 / 46 / 23
Discussion of Findings / Plant Science persistence and employment are below the state negotiated performance goals.However, the total number of students from which the above data is derived is less than 26 in each of the categories, so the data varies wildly from year to year. For example, last year the program met the state negotiated levels, but two years before that the program did not.
Does not represent unnecessary duplication of other manpower training programs in the area.*
List programs from other institutions (private/fee based/public):
Name of Institution / Name of Program / Distance to College / Public/Private / Approx. Enrollment
COS / Plant Science / 70 miles / X Public Private
PublicPrivate
PublicPrivate
Findings / What was the number of awards in this AA for each of the past three years?
What is the number of completions (awards) from our college?1,2,1
What is the number of completions (awards) from regional colleges?
Does the above program represent unnecessary duplication of training programs in the area? Please explain. The closest program in plant science is 70 miles away, so there is not duplication for a community college program.
How often do/will you re-examine the effectiveness of certificate requirements? (curriculum review)
Every six years
Based on your results, what changes could you make in your program to meet or continue to exceed your target (such as course content, scheduling/sequence, outreach, instructional strategies)?
Again, this degree is targeted for replacement by the AS-T. As soon as this program is replaced with the AS-T, we will advertise the new degree and the number of students entering and completing the program should grow.

*This information meets the state requirements for all CTE programs.

SECTION III-Attachments
  • Attach EMSI/Labor Market Data

(Include a Historical Report for the 5 year period prior to the year you are submitting the report. Then run a Projection Report for the 5 year period subsequent to the year you are submitting the report.)

  • Attach Core Indicator Data
  • Attach Advisory Board Minutes

Revised 2/2106 byjlj: approved 3/2/16 CTE Task Force Page 1