United States Distance Learning Association

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
has approximately 4,800 students,
including more than 1,100 graduate students
(College of Agricultural and Life Sciences,
2007). In addition to the traditional
programs offered on the main campus at
Gainesville, the college offers baccalaureate
degrees, professional graduate degrees,
and teacher certification courses at six satellite
sites. The College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences offers over 80 courses via distance
education (University of Florida Distance
Education Degrees, 2007). Additional
live and distance education courses are
offered at various locations around the
state. The mission of the College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences is to provide
undergraduate and graduate students
with a high-quality education that results
in knowledge and abilities for gainful
employment and additional education,
productive citizenship, and lifelong learning
in the areas of food, agriculture, natural
resources, and life sciences as they
relate to human resources, the environment,
individual communities, and a global
society (College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences, 2007)
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE OF
AGRICULTURAL AND LIFE SCIENCES
The University of Florida and the Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences entered
into a “federal-state-county wide partnership
federal-state-county partnership dedicated
to developing knowledge in
agriculture, human and natural resources,
and the life sciences, and enhancing and
sustaining the quality of human life by
making that information accessible” (Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences,
2007a, para. 1). This partnership is commonly
known as UF/IFAS. In 1964, a reorganization
of UF’s College of Agriculture,
School of Forestry, Agricultural Experiment
Station, and the Cooperative Extension
Service into a single unit occurred and
UF/IFAS was born. Today, UF/IFAS
includes extension in each of the state’s 67
counties, 13 research and education centers
throughout Florida, College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences, School of Forest
Resources and Conservation, the School of
Natural Resources and Environment, Center
for Tropical Agriculture, portions of the
College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida
Sea Grant Program, and the International
Program for Food, Agriculture and Natural
Resources (Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences, 2007a). UF/IFAS locations
are depicted in Figure 1.
Angeline Yoder, Business Education Teacher,
Tamaqua Area High School, 500 Penn Street
Tamaqua, PA 18252.
Telephone: (570) 668-1901.
E-mail: ayoder@tamaqua.k12.pa.us
TECHNOLOGY AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The University of Florida’s Office of Informational
Technology (OIT) serves faculty,
students, and staff by providing a computing
environment that applies technology.
UF OIT strives to provide that technology
64 Distance Learning Volume 4, Issue 4