Feasibility study, program revision, and curriculum development for a mechanized agriculture program in an urban California community college

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to apply current curriculum development practices by analyzing industry and market needs; and to modify an existing Mechanized Agriculture Program and its curriculum to meet the needs of the agricultural, industrial, and landscape businesses in the surrounding community.; Procedure. Increasing urbanization, encroachment of industrial and commercial developments, along with advancements in technology contributed to the need for re-evaluation of the traditional Mechanized Agriculture Program at Mt. San Antonio Community College in Walnut, California.; An established jury of experts at a preliminary planning session developed a direction for the revision process. A quantitative mail survey was conducted. The survey data were coded and processed using a mainframe computer utilizing a statistical software package designed for social sciences. The data were analyzed by frequency distribution and Chi-Squared Statistics, as appropriated. The jury of experts determined the survey results to be both valid and adequate to warrant program revision and curriculum development.; Conclusions. The conclusion to modify the existing Mechanized Agriculture Program and rename it the Equipment Technology Program was based on: Projections that the conversion of agriculture land to urban land would continue to increase; the existing program was inadequately serving the changing employment market; no competitive program was within the 20-mile radius of Mt. San Antonio College; analysis of the survey results warranted program revision and curriculum development; and the predominate agriculture based industry was related to landscape and nursery management.; The Equipment Technology Program was designed to offer an Associate in Science degree and two certificate options: Equipment Technology and Landscape Equipment Technology. Curricula were developed to fit the needs of the surrounding industry and community. Final approval for the program revision and curriculum was granted in April, 1988 by the Mt. San Antonio College Curriculum Committee. Implementation began September 1988. Recommendations for further study were reported.