Advosry Boards and Committees play an important part in regulatory complaince as well as program development. What are some stratigies that you are using to maintain involvment of members in such programs?

One key area that I have found that seem to imporve student outcomes retention and placement is to get student involved early on in their professional organization. Has anyone else seem similar result?

Once your 5 year plan is developed an in place shouldn't it be updated regularly? Would it be better to maintain a rolling 60 Month plan? This might better reflect adjustments made to market and economic trends!?

A job applicant's superb credentials and outstanding interviewing skills can lead to hiring a person who may not be as fabulous as you thought once they are on the job. In addition to knowledge and communication skills, there are so many personal qualities that are crucial to being a good educator, such as dependability, punctuality, patience, self-control and flexibility. Unfortunately, it is only after the person is on the job for awhile that it becomes apparent whether or not the new educator possesses these personal qualities or not.

I work at a distance learning school and often times it is hard to gauge how effective the orientation is since there are no in-person demonstrations or face-to-face discussions. What methods should we use to make sure the instructor is prepared for the job?

We have to conduct employment interviews over the phone. How important are facial expressions and body language during interviews? Is there anything we should do to compensate for not being able to have the person in front of us?

Taking into consideration that my institution is so specific,makeup and hairstyling for the media and entertainment industries and without trying to just accept the $$ of the student, how would you streamline whether the candidate is "ideal". During the interview process, specific questions are asked and the students that come to our school truly believe that this industry is for them. In order to enhance the retention program and placement program, what questions could be asked to sift through prospective students' potential?

As the Dir. of Career Services in a school that teaches make up and hair styling for the media and entertainment industry, I find it challenging to find ways to integrate key retention programs. The industry is predominantly freelance and so once a student believes they have found the "perfect" job, while in school, it is hard to convince them that it would be beneficial to stay and complete and even augment the skills they have learned up to that point. How do you keep a student "full time" in a freelance industry?

Our school does not advertise. We have a very specific curriculum and students search us out on the internet. We participate in industry fairs and conventions, and part of our 5 year plan is to have some open houses demonstrating one of our courses. Any other ideas?

As discussed a school is measured by retention and placement results, but what can you do if a number of students after graduating just don't seem to have the drive to join that specific work force that they received training for? It's very hard to place someone at that point, and subsequently this will affect your placement numbers when it's not for lack of trying your end.

How many of you require that an applicant send beforehand a written essay as part of the interviewing process?

Well prepared teachers, with the best KSAO's, are the ideal. However, that requires compensating them accordingly. And, generally, teachers are not well-paid in most school districts in the USA. In your experience, are your teachers well paid in your district? As educators, what can we do to improve teachers' salaries?

Who should be involved in the development of a Learning Resource Center? How involved should students be?

We have students in our campus that reside in five different counties. What would be the best way to develop the Placement Department that could provide options to all?

Marketing strategies are important to have in place and I agree with the need for constant evaluation. Marketing can be very expensive and the evaluation allows to better distribute the funds allocated for this.

Dr. Roerich: What do you think about inviting graduates from school to be members of the advisory board? I think they can contribute with a different but importante perspective. They were school students and now they graduate and are working in the industry.

Is it a good idea to make an needs assessment or ask recomendation from the faculty and other key personnel in the institution? The purpose of gathering this information is to be use in defining statement of purpose.

Should the Welcome Package for an Advisory Board be similar to the one for the Governing Board?

How can I develop a manageable Advisory Board to combine the cultural background of our students as well as their community, when students reside in three different counties and come from numerous countries?

Is it better to have the advisory board meeting at the college, or is it better to meet in a restaurant? We have had all of the meetings in a restaurant and it is very difficult to accomplish anything. We have tried many different restaurants over the years. We have a total of six people attend on average.