EAST LANSING, Mich. — Registration for the winter session of the award-winning Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting Course in Michigan State University Extension’s College of Knowledge is now open. The College of Knowledge Online Series was the 2017 National Award Winning Commercial Horticulture Program from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. Growers or other interested professionals can participate in the upcoming series of this award-winning program by signing up until Nov. 30, 2017. Students will have from Dec.1, 2017, through Feb. 28, 2018, to complete the course. Sign up now!
There are currently three online modules of the Floriculture College of Knowledge. To date, a total of 166 people have taken this course from 20 countries, including 28 U.S. states and 14 counties of Michigan. These participants represented 37.3 million square feet of greenhouse production. In the most recent session, which ended August 2017, 92 percent of course participants said they would recommend the course to another individual!As a result of the course, 67 percent of people intended to make a crop production change.
Course information
This non-credit, pre-recorded online course on greenhouse and horticultural lighting is intended for greenhouse and ornamental plant growers and others interested in learning about the fundamental concepts about how plants respond to light quality, quantity and duration. Participants enrolled in this self-paced course will take a pre-test and a final exam to gauge their learning of the topics. Self-assessment quizzes will engage students with the material throughout the course. The course also provides links to over 36 trade articles published on pertinent lighting topics. The cost to take this course is $129.
The course is taught on MSU‘s Desire-2-Learn Course Platform by Heidi Lindberg, MSU Extension greenhouse and nursery extension educator. For more information and to watch a teaser video for this course, check out the Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting Course page.
Available scholarships and incentives
For the winter 2017-18 session, there are three scholarships available for those interested in the course but do not have the financial means to take it. Greenhouse growers interested in the scholarship will be able to apply for it upon registering by writing a short paragraph about why you should be awarded this scholarship and how you plan to use the information in your business or professional endeavors. The applicants and winners will be kept confidential. The cost of the course will be reduced to $39.99 for scholarship winners.
Complete the course and be entered to win one of three $75 gift cards (U.S. residents only). Once students have paid for the course, completed the pre-test, final exam and the post-course evaluation, they will be eligible to be entered in a raffle for one of three $75 gift cards.
Register now for the Greenhouse and Horticultural Lighting online course!
Growers should also consider registering for the two other College of Knowledge courses:
You can read about the impacts of this national, award-winning series at “Sign up today for winter greenhouse online courses.”
— Heidi Lindberg, Michigan State University Extension
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