Course Information

• Individual rate: $685
• Group rates are available for those purchasing 5 or more seats. Email the Rural Grocery Initiative at rgi-learn@ksu.edu for more information.

Supporting rural grocers in business transition planning is essential to keeping the benefits of hometown grocery stores in rural communities. The Rural Grocery Transition Specialist program trains and deploy resource professionals across the country to better serve rural grocers through business transitions.

Upon successful completion of all requirements, you will:

• Become a certified Rural Grocery Specialist and join our network of specialists. Benefits of being in this specialist network include:
  • Access to an email listserv that includes all Rural Grocery Specialists from past cohorts. This listserv is a place to share resources, ask questions of other specialists and share success stories with one another.
  • Inclusion in map of Rural Grocery Specialists on the Rural Grocery Initiative's website. Inquiries and referrals for support in your service area will be routed through RGI.
• Earn a microcredential and digital badge from Kansas State University.
• Receive a digital Certificate of Completion to add to your work portfolio.
• Gain access to additional continuing education and peer learning opportunities.

Although the Rural Grocery Transition Specialist program is a non-credit course, homework assessments and discussion boards are used to assess and measure learning. These are graded using an assessment rubric, and in some cases, are required to be completed in order to move forward in the course.

Students should expect to spend approximately 25-30 hours total to complete the course over a 13-week period. To successfully complete the course and earn the certificate, you will need to do the following:

• Complete all of the modules, including any assignments contained within each module.
• Attend and participate in the four 1.5 to 2 hour virtual sessions.
• Pass with an overall score of 75% in the course.

Upon successful completion of all requirements, you will become a Rural Grocery Specialist, earn the Rural Grocery Transition Specialist microcredential and digital badge from Kansas State University, and join our network of specialists.

The course includes four live, interactive virtual sessions. These sessions provide opportunity to meet others in your cohort, network and discuss course topics.

Participation in these four sessions is mandatory for this course. The synchronous session schedule for each cohort is posted in the course description prior to enrollment. If you are not able to participate in any of these sessions, please enroll in a future course that is compatible with your schedule.

An optional RGTS Alumni Connect session will take place after the course ends to connect with other Rural Grocery Specialists from previous cohorts and learn from alumni. All past participants who have finished the Rural Grocery Specialist program are invited to attend.

You may use AI tools to support your learning on homework assignments only — permitted uses include brainstorming, grammar checks, and feedback on drafts you have already written yourself. AI tools are not permitted for discussion board posts or replies, which must be written entirely in your own words; you may also not input another student's discussion post into any AI tool for any purpose. If you choose to use AI for your homework assignments, you may not submit any AI-generated text as your own writing — meaning you may not paste a prompt into an AI tool and submit what it produces, in whole or in part. Any AI use must be cited as follows: "Title of AI Tool. Full prompt and conversation. Date of use." Failure to cite AI use on a homework assignment, or any AI use on a discussion board post or reply, will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment.

Program Development Timeline:

• August to November 2022: Curriculum Development
• December 2022 to March 2023: Recording video lessons and developing online modules
• April 2023 to June 2023: Offer Pilot Program - available to a select number of Extension Professionals in the North-Central Region
• Fall 2023: Announcement of 2024 public course offerings

This curriculum development project was funded by North Central Regional Center for Rural Development through their Small Grants program.