Agricultural Education in the South: A Comparison of Student Characteristics at Land Grant Institutions

Abstract

Agriculture always has been a core curriculum in the Land Grant colleges. These schools traditionally emphasize the practical side of education and more than many other courses of study, agriculture curriculums forge a closer link between educational means and occupational ends.' Recently, a social trend emphasizing the usefulness and relevance of a college degree has been reflected in rising undergraduate enrollments at Land Grant schools in general and in colleges of agriculture in particular.2 Although these changes have been noted for several years, little systematic attention has been given to the composition and aspirations of agriculture student bodies and the new directions being taken in agricultural training and placement. Increased student interest in agricultural programs is a nationwide phenomenon. Undergraduate agricultural college enrollments in the United States increased by 199 percent between 1961 and 1976.3 Since 1976, enrollments have risen by almost a third, with *Data collected as CSRS-SEA-USDA regional project S-114 of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. 'Leo McGee, Role of the Traditionally Black Public Institution of Higher Learning in Extension Journal of Negro Education, 46 (Winter, 1977), 46-52; Rodney J. Reed, Increasing the Opportunities for Black Students in Higher Journal of Negro Education, 47 (Spring, 1978), 143-150. 2Darrel S. Metcalfe, Enrollment Projections, Undergraduates, in Impacts of Enrollments and Student Body Composition on Academic Program Design and Delivery, edited by David Armstrong, (East Lansing: Michigan State University, 1977), pp. 121-139. 3Ibid.