DMACC Viticulture & Enology Program

How our Classes Work

In regions where grape and wine production is young and increasing, grape growers and producers encounter many questions and hurdles. Grape and wine production takes a lot of time and knowledge of a wide array of information. The DMACC Viticulture and Enology program courses are designed to be flexible to fit the needs of those looking for information about grape and wine production.

Many of the students interested in taking these courses have a wide range of working schedules and live more than a commuting distance from the DMACC Ankeny campus. Because of the diverse schedules of our students, most classes in the DMACC Viticulture and Enology program are offered in a blended format.

The blended format allows for people with busy and variable schedules to still be able take quality courses related viticulture and enology. DMACC’s blended courses use the WebCT online course program. Most of the theoretical work is done through this online forum and the labs are done during residential schools. Information in the online portions of the classes is presented in many forms: written lectures, links to articles, presentations, recorded lectures, etc.

Online discussion forums are also utilized and allow students to engage in active dialogue with other students and the instructor on their own time. Most classes work in weekly or half-week segments, where the student works on the class materials whenever it is convenient for them during that time period. If students have questions or comments, they can contact the instructor at any time via phone or email for personal guidance.

The majority of the classes in the program are 3 or 4 credits and a student can expect to spend on average around 2-3 hours of time per credit per week. Often the first week or two of the course takes more time than expected since many students have previously not taken an online class and it takes a bit of time to get used to the system.

In a given class the online portion represents about 75% of the class material, with the reminder being the ‘hands on’ lab portion. The labs in the DMACC Viticulture and Enology program are done in intensive 3 full day residential schools under the guidance of the trained instructors. These residential schools are housed on the DMACC Ankeny campus, but in the future may branch out into other locations as well. The goal of these residential schools is to provide the students with hands-on experience to apply the theoretical knowledge they have learned in the online portion of the class. Typically the residential schools are on Thursdays-Saturdays so that only 2 days of work need to be taken off for students who are working full time. The timing of these residential schools varies and is on the schedule of courses when you register for the class. Attendance to the residential school is an obligatory part of the class and not only provides the student with practical application of the materials learned in the course, but it also allows the students to explore other vineyard and winery operations through field trips and allows for students to be able to network with people within the industry.

Some computer skills are required to be able to navigate through the courses along with a quality internet connection. Students must also be self motivated to be able to complete all the activities when they are due. An example of what the online course looks like is below.

Links about online courses at DMACC: http://www.dmacc.edu/online/