How USU Extension is evaluating a remote work education program for residents in rural counties

I recently published a research in brief article in the Journal of Extension, titled Evaluating Utah's Rural Online Initiative: Empowering Rural Communities Through Remote Work. My co-authors on this manuscript were my fellow USU Extension colleagues and faculty: Dr. Lendel Narine, Dr. Amanda Ali, Dr. Debra Spielmaker, and Andrea Schmutz. Here is the abstract:

Utah's rural counties have experienced high levels of unemployment compared to the state's urban counties. Utah State University Extension developed a remote work educational program intended to reduce rural unemployment. We conducted a descriptive study to gather data from May–August 2019 participants (N = 1,025). Our results indicate that short-term outcomes from the course were realized. On average, participants experienced increases in knowledge, improved skills, and positive intentions toward seeking remote employment. We recommended formative evaluation for continuous course improvement and follow-up procedures to measure participants' success in securing remote employment. Extension professionals can plan and evaluate their programs using the framework presented in this article.

Read the full article at joe.org.