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Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode covers the 7th Annual Virginia Tech School of Turfgrass Ecology and Management (VT-STEM).

Are you looking for a refresher course in the principles of turfgrass management? Is there someone on your turf maintenance staff that you would like to provide an opportunity for professional development in turf management? The Virginia Tech Turfgrass Team offers an affordable virtual 13-week training program called VT-STEM that covers all areas of turfgrass management.

The School is primarily intended to serve the educational needs of those seeking professional advancement that have (or are interested in) jobs in the turfgrass industry, but don’t currently have the time or resources to pursue formal 2 or 4-year turf degrees. For 2026 – 27, School runs from November 7, 2026 through mid-February 2027.

New training topics are presented weekly by VT Turf Team faculty, through both synchronous and asynchronous formats. Written chapters and pre-recorded training lectures are provided each week, and the students are charged with taking both pre-training and post-training quizzes to assess their mastery of the subject matter. The VT Turf Team and invited industry guests meet with the students by Zoom every Wednesday night from 7 – 9 p.m. eastern during the school year (all meetings are recorded for later viewing).

Students that complete all VT-STEM requirements receive the STEM badge and are eligible to sit for the Virginia Certified Turfgrass Professional exams, a credentialing program that is included as part of this tuition fee and is made available in virtual format from mid-February through March for all those that qualify.

The tuition cost for VT-STEM is $600 per student (there are discounts available for first responders and veterans – just let us know).

If you have additional questions, please contact either Mike Goatley (goatley@vt.edu) or Dan Sandor (dsandor@vt.edu).

Registration opens in July at https://tinyurl.com/VT-Turfgrass-School and School begins on Saturday, November 7

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