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Wednesday October 12, 1983
Clackamas Community College
Vol. XVn, No. 2
Computer era productive for farms
Instructor devises unique program
Baling hay by computers
is a fantasy. But Farm Busi­
ness Management Instructor
Steve Watts is helping local
farmers use microcomputers
to their advantage.
Watts came to Clackamas
Community College a year ago
and has added a dimension to
the Farm Business Manage­
ment program, which has
created an enrollment waiting
list for the first time since the
program began in 1977. The
Steve Watts, designer of Agri-
Business computer program.
class is currently full with 36
students.
The unique aspect is that
the class is the only program in
the Northwest that utilizes the
computer with full-time
farmers. The computers help
the farmers with tax planning,
financial records, inventory
and other record keeping.
Watts estimates that it saves
farmers an average of 60 per­
cent in time.
“They can still use the old
hand method, but most of
them choose the microcom­
puters,” Watts said. “About
70 percent of the farmers have
computers in their farm of­
fices and the other 30 percent
come in and use ours.”
The College currently has
two microcomputers set up in
the Media Center at Clairmont
Hall that the farmers have ac­
cess to. In addition to the com­
puters, monthly seminars are
given and Watts pays a per­
sonal visit to each farm.
Watts said the program is
set up on a financial year basis
beginning in January and en­
ding in December. The course
is a three-year program that
the farmers complete in yearly
segments.
Acceptance of the pro­
gram seems to be increasing,
Watts said, and next year a
class dealing with microcom­
puter applications in
agriculture will be required for
the College’s two-year pro­
gram in Agri-Business.
Interest in a program like
this comes naturally for
Watts, who also does con­
sulting work with farmers in
microcomputers by designing
systems and customizing
record keeping for farmers.
Future expansion of the
program is stationary momen­
tarily because of the financial
bind that the College is in, but
Watts said given the oppor­
tunity to expand they could.
“We could expand but we
probably won’t. Right now we
are going to stick with the
enrollment waiting list.
Anytime the College wants us
to expand, we can,” Watts
said.
MARY JO STAEHELY works on farming records for
Valley View Guernsey Farms near Canby. Staehely is a student
in the newly formed Farm Business Management program.
Video-Tech department suffers
severe cutback of program
By Steve Lundgren
For The Print
Photo by Russ McMillen
CARLOS RICKETSON, VIDEO Technology instructor,
refers to the program as “defunct.” Cuts were made to
three of the four classes offered at the College.
With the recent elimina­
tion of three of its classes, the
Video Technology program at
Clackamas Community Col­
lege “has. been more or less
phased out” as a separate in­
structional program, accor­
ding to Lee Turpin, vocational
career counselor at the Col­
lege.
The elimination of the
classes and the subsequent
change of the program’s status
was the result of a number of
factors. According to sources,
centimeters
miwl
•
budget considerations, the fin­
dings of a job search survey
for video technology, and the
recommendations of an ad­
visory committee played a ma­
jor part in bringing about the
change. A gradual decline in
the program’s enrollment was
also cited as a factor.
While the program has
not been eliminated, its em­
phasis has been changed. Until
this year it included actual
production projects. The
course of study was changed
last spring and all production-
oriented classes were
eliminated in favor of a pro­
gram that is more technically
oriented, Chuck Scott, assis­
tant dean of math, science and
engineering said. The Video
Technology program is under
the control of the Electronics
Technology Department at the
College.
The change was instituted
largely on the recommenda­
tion of an advisory committee
that included representatives
from local television stations
KATU and KOAP. Scott says
that the committee recom­
mended a shift to a program
(Please see page 6)