Abstract:
Student academic performance, based on college final grade point average, tends to have a greater impact on career success in selected professions, most notably in the fields of law and medicine. Graduates with higher final GPAs customarily acquire more prestigious professional positions which result in higher compensation packages. Little information is available regarding the use of college academic performance as an indicator for career success in the turfgrass management industry. This study examines the relationship between student academic performance based on final college grade point average, in a two-year turfgrass management program and the success level achieved by graduates at least five years after graduation. Turfgrass management students typically view achieving success in the industry as being determined by securing high level professional positions such as golf course superintendents, sports turf facilities managers, landscaping managers, related business owners, or associated industry managers. This work focuses on turfgrass management graduates from the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (n = 347) between the years of 1996 and 2006. Data for this work was gathered through personal contact, alumni records and through industry professional organizational sources. Results of this particular study reveal that college graduates with higher grade point averages do not achieve higher levels of career success, both in professional positions held and compensation, than graduates with lower grade point averages in the turfgrass management industry.
Key Words:
Turfgrass management industry, prestigious professional positions
 8 Willoughby NACTA Journal Sept13.pdf | [ ] | 406 kB |
