Branching out
Students can earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Utah State University without ever stepping foot on campus, said Lee Roderick, government and media relations director at the university.
USU offers extension programs via satellite, independent study, Internet classes and through live instructors in various Utah cities, Roderick said.
“Most of the students that graduate through these programs would not be able to get an education without them because of family and work responsibilities. We take knowledge to the people of the state. We help people help themselves. That’s what we do,” he said.
USU Extensions has 15 bachelor’s degrees, 14 master’s degrees and 16 certificate programs through Continuing Education, according to the USU Extensions Web page.
Roderick said regular tuition applies to these courses but fees may vary.
USU is the only land-grant university in Utah, and because of this is required to make programs available to the general public, Roderick said.
There are two components of land-grant universities, which are cooperative and continuing extensions and also agricultural experiment stations. USU has both of these aspects, he said.
USU offers satellite programs in 80 different locations, including ones located on the borders of Nevada, Wyoming and Idaho.
As part of the cooperative extension, there are 70 faculty members, called “agents,” which live in each of Utah’s 29 counties, Roderick said. These agents teach live classes and work in continuing education programs which deal with issues such as finance, family and the environment.
USU Continuing Education is considered a national model and is the largest program of its kind in Utah, according to the USU Extension release on the Utah Agricultural Experimental Station.
Roderick said these Extension programs are funded from three levels of the government: Federal, state and county.
One of the largest programs offered within Extensions is the 4-H Youth Development Program.Roderick said one out of every six young people are taught by 4-H in the course of a year.
Roderick said there are 10,000 volunteers in the 4-H program through clubs and school programs, and they are becoming increasingly important in both urban and rural settings.
For more information, go to www.extension.usu.edu