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Course Syllabus

AGBS 1200 Agribusiness Foundations

  • Division: Business and Applied Tech
  • Department: Business
  • Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 0
  • Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  • Semester Approved: Spring 2025
  • Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2029
  • End Semester: Fall 2030
  • Optimum Class Size: 24
  • Maximum Class Size: 24

Course Description

In this course, students will be introduced to one thematic issue (e.g. cloning, GMOs. definition of beauty) from at least three different areas of study in order to understand ways in which knowledge is interconnected and relevant. Additionally, this course will focus on the skills and habits that are essential for becoming a lifelong learner in an interdisciplinary world. This course should be taken during the freshman year. An additional fee is required.

Justification

When students learn to see relevance and make connections, they develop multifaceted proficiency in and across all areas within the agriculture industry. Integrative learning gives students the ability to succeed in situations that demand creativity, adaptability, flexibility, critical reasoning, and collaboration. As a foundation of being an educated person within the agriculture industry, integrative learning guides students in becoming lifelong learners and problem solvers who can adapt to new environments, integrate and apply knowledge from a variety of sources, and develop a range of intellectual and practical skills.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. A student who completes this curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures, the natural world, and a basic understanding of their relationships to agriculture.
  2. A student who completes this curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines within the agriculture industry to address complex problems.
  3. A student who completes this curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively.
  4. A student who completes this curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking.
  5. A student who completes this curriculum will have a broad idea of careers available within the agriculture industry.

Course Content

Specific content for this course will be centered around agriculture. This course will provide context and opportunity for students to successfully meet the following expectations:
1. Describe what lifelong learning means to them and the value of integrative learning.
2. Construct a personalized education plan.
3. Read a minimum of at least 50 pages of text from various sources related to agriculture (texts can be understood broadly as traditional readings but also films, videos, podcasts, performances, etc.).
4. Write a minimum of 10 pages of formal and informal text related to agriculture (educational objective, research project, essay exams, journals, in-class writing activity, summaries, analyses, etc.).
5. Give an oral presentation.
6. Demonstrate the fundamentals of teamwork.