3-18 FB H.S. Kids/U.of I

 Interest grows in UI credits for high school students

A THREE-YEAR-OLD PROGRAM offering Idaho high school students college credit for University of Idaho-level agriculture classes continues to expand.

Allison Touchstone, senior instructor in the University of Idaho’s Department of Agricultural and Extension Education says "It’s maybe the only one of its kind in the nation that operates through agricultural education programs."

An overwhelming number of students who take the classes are interested in or have already enrolled in a four-year college program," Here’s Dr. Touchstone in person: “It made a lot of sense to us to start articulating those courses between ag programs and the U of I.”

 Last fall, 173 students at 22 high schools across Idaho earned college credit by taking college-level agricultural education, agricultural economics, animal and veterinary science, and plant science classes at their high schools.

 Participating high school teachers must attend an annual institute to ensure their classes and students meet university standards, said Lou Riesenberg, UI professor of agricultural and extension education, who oversees the program.