Great Lakes School of Turfgrass Science and GreenKeeper University team up to provide introductory and advanced turfgrass educational opportunities. Virtual classes are three to twelve weeks long and run from Nov 30, 2020 to April 2, 2021.

At GreenKeeper, our vision is to transform how the turf industry makes decisions. Education is central to the success of that mission. Last fall, we launched GreenKeeper University as an educational option for people who wanted more in-depth training than is traditionally offered by short courses or other non-degree options. Unlike one-hour conference sessions or brief webinars, GreenKeeper University courses dive deeper into the advanced turf management topics over the course of three to twelve weeks. This extra time allows our instructors time time to explain advanced concepts and interact with other learners.

The Great Lakes School of Turfgrass Management has been a leader in online turfgrass training for the past eight years. A dozen turfgrass scientist and educators lead students through twelve weeks of interactive and virtual introductory turfgrass management training. The advanced courses in GreenKeeper University further expounds on the content in the Great Lakes School of Turfgrass Management. The two programs have partnered together during the 2020-21 off-season to provide compressive training for managers. The Great Lakes School will continue to offer its fantastic introductory programming under the GreenKeeper University banner. Students will still earn a certificate from the GLSTS program, and GreenKeeper University will handle student registration and host the courses (Golf and Grounds tracks) and host the course content.

Students that complete the GLSTS, or have equivalent introductory training or experience, can continue to work towards a diploma from GreenKeeper University. There are now 16 courses ranging from one to three credits (3 to 9 weeks) in advanced topics. Courses include Putting Green Management with Dr. Thom Nikolai (1 cr.), Turfgrass weeds with Dr. Aaron Patton or Turfgrass Insects with Dr. Ben McGraw (3 cr. each), cool- and warm-season diseases with Dr. Paul Koch and Dr. Jim Kerns (2 cr.), PGR Programming (1 cr.) and Precision Turf Management (2 cr.) with Dr. Bill Kreuser, and four different one credit soils courses by Dr. Doug Soldat.

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All the courses are offered 100% online and generally consist of two 1-hour lectures that can be watched anytime and one live discussion session each week. There is also a weekly quiz to help students understand the core topics from that week. Courses are graded on completion with 70% required to pass a weekly quiz (unlimited attempts). Students receive instant feedback on the quizzes to aid comprehension. To help students succeed, Sam Bauer will help facilitate the different courses and schedule Zoom meetings. More information about the advanced courses can be found on the FAQ page.

The Great Lakes School of Turfgrass Science Certificate course is $550 and the GKU Advanced Courses are $185 per credit. The first three courses – PGR Programming (Kreuser), ABCs of Putting Green Management (Nikolai), and Turf Soil Testing (Soldat) – begin the week after Thanksgiving on Monday, Nov. 30 and wrap up before Christmas. The other 13 courses and the Great Lakes School of Turfgrass Management start after the new year.

To register for 2020-21 Great Lakes School Introductory Turf Management training click here. If you have completed an introductory training program and want to take more advanced course, then click here to register.

Courses start soon. Register today to advance you turfgrass management knowledge.