State Degree Guidebook Review

[Jemma Loughery]

Hello Montana Ag Teachers,

The State Degree Review Committee has been working on the creation of the Montana State FFA Degree Guidebook. We are asking all Montana agricultural educators to take time to review the proposed guidebook and provide feedback before the final proposal is presented.

There are committee comments included throughout the document for you to review as well. Please add any questions, concerns, suggestions, or clarification needs directly within the document comments so we can continue refining the guidebook to best serve Montana FFA members and advisors.

Our goal is to bring a finalized proposal forward at the MAAE Conference in June to present to the Board for official consideration and approval.

Some of the major areas addressed in the guidebook include:

• SAE eligibility and qualifying experiences
• Community service expectations
• Recordkeeping requirements and expectations
• State Degree application and review procedures
• Alignment with National FFA standards and expectations

Your feedback is extremely important in making sure this guidebook is practical, clear, and representative of programs across the state.

Please review and submit comments by June 1st so the committee has time to make final revisions before the conference.

Thank you for your time, input, and continued support of Montana FFA members.

Jemma Loughery
Montana State FFA Degree Review Committee Chair

[Jemma Loughery]

It has come to my attention that the PDF version does not include the comments that have been made. Sorry about that. You should be able to access the comments on this link and put questions directly in there if they are for the benefit of everyone. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qe8SKi4dWuP08Hy5_OLm6cb7RX4SSjyyA06wmxq5WK4/edit?usp=drive_link 

[heupelj]

Hi Jemma,

I should have reached out sooner, but I am unable to see the comments from the committee with this link and believe they would be helpful to review before providing too much feedback.  There is a lot that I like with this document starting with all of the good work put forth by the committee.  However, it appears at this time that there are new proposals in the document which are beyond the scope of state and national FFA constitutions, particularly as it relates to placement SAEs - number of journal entries, quality of journal entries, and number of AFNR skill areas . . .  I'm unclear on whether some of these proposals are merely suggestions for good recordkeeping and success in the application process or if they are in addition to the minimum requirements to earn the degree.  Of course, I am sure that this committee is aware, any additions or changes to the minimum requirements will require delegate business and action to amend our state constitution, putting us more than 1 year away from full implementation.

With these ideas in mind, I believe we are at a point where it is time to pick a lane . . . Are we wanting our review committee to evaluate applications for the state degree or are we reviewing record books?

Also, I believe there should be room under the umbrella of "Ag Related" for the general mechanics, construction, hardware store, and food service to be able to qualify among other slightly "non-traditional" SAEs.  I believe the message shared by Mr. Taylor earlier this year outlined this point very well.  Further these SAEs are very easy to justify within the current AFNR standards.

Just a few thoughts from a guy who has signed off on a few hundred state degree applications over the last 3 decades.

Thanks,

Justin