The Western Academic Program Section (W-APS)

The Academic Program Section (APS) is comprised of the principal officer(s) responsible for academic or instructional programs (undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education) offered by the faculty within colleges of agriculture and related disciplines. It is one of six sections within the Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU). The others are the Experiment Station Section, the Extension Programs Section, the Administrative Heads Section, the International Programs Section, and the 1890 Association of Research Directors. A representative drawn from the APS membership elected by the BAA delegates represents the Academic Program Section on the BAA Policy Board of Directors.

Academic Programs Section members represent 120 different institutions that include the 1862 land-grants, 1890 land-grants, 1994 land-grants, and 5 non-land-grant institutions. It also includes the 40+ institutions belonging to American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable Resources (AASCARR). The AASCARR organization and its institutions are affiliate members of APS. Thus, in total, APS represents 160+ institutions having academic programs in agriculture, natural resources, life, and related sciences.

There are four regional sections of APS, the south, northeast, north central and west, and each of these are represented by an officer (ie, Past President, President, President-Elect and Secretary) on the Executive Committee. Elected officers have a 4-year commitment to the Executive Committee that begins with their tenure as secretary and progresses through president-elect, president and past president positions. A region ensures its representation on the APS Executive Committee by electing a new APS secretary once every four years.

A Field Guide to the Academic Programs Section (APS)