Advisory Boards and Committees
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?
HI Mark
Great question. Advisory Boards are sooo valuable in addition to being required by some regulatory bodies. Suggest you be creative with meetings. Plan one or two meaningful work meetings throughout the year. Then plan monthly online meetings or conference calls. Some schools also have blogs, forums, chat rooms, and any other way to easily keep the advisory board member involved and giving advice. Best wishes, Susan
I like the idea of monthly online meetings. We have two Advisory Council meetings each year. Additionally, our three Occupational Advisory Committees meet twice a year. Monthly online meetings would be an effective way to keep everyone up todate on whats going on, and get ongoing input.
HI Richard,
Many schools find that the more meetings then the more advice and ideas are generated. Having online meetings, conference calls, or even posing email questions to everyone is a great way to get feedback you need and also not infringe on the time of your board. It's always a fine line. Best wishes, Susan
In our University we assigned the advisory boards for department and put in different location of the facilities for make sure the right people read the information. For example
•Faculty near of faculty room
•Students in the student lounge
•Library in front of the entrance
•Counseling in the hall
This sounds interesting Jorge. Can you provide more details? Thanks, Susan
We are constantly evaluating new programs. We already have 2 Medical programs that if we decide to add another program will use the existing equipment on hand, thus reducing the capital investment in purchasing new equipment. We have 4 Busieess programs that complement each other. To add a new program might be costly.
Regardless what we do we are constantly on the lookout to provide the skills needed so that everyone can ge gainfully employed in our community.
Arthur,
Hi Arthur - We think that a lot of research should be conducted before adding a new program. Here are some questions we think are important - Is the training needed in the community? Put another way - are there enough job openings for graduates? Will you be able to find externships if needed? How many other schools within 20 miles of your school are offering similar programs? Cam you easily get instructors? Can your current staff support student success? Can your current staff handle adding one or two or several new programs at one time? And of course there are many many other areas to research. Good question. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
It is a challenge to keep the 2-per-year face-to-face meetings meaningful. Lately it seems we have quite a bit of turn over. One longtime board member resigned because she got an award for being longest-running member representing employers. She said that meant it was time for new blood!! We will give no more awards for longevity!
Otherwise people find the time challenging in industries that have more evening or lunchtime business. We are required to review mission and goals every time--really, does that need to be done every time?
I like the online and blog idea, to just let people chime in whenever they get a creative thought.
denise,
Hmmm. Only 2 face to face meetings a year. That doesn't seem like enough to us. Maybe you are also hold phone conference calls from time to time or emailings? Interesting about your longevity comments and kind of funny. One could argue for retaining advisory board members and also looking for new blood and new ideas. Maybe the goal is to have a sufficient number so that you won't notice when there are drop outs! Maybe a solution is to bring interesting comments for the board to ponder or asking unexpected questions. The answer is what works for your school. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
PAC members are included in the formal meetings throughout the academic year. Allow and invite PAC members informally to visit school throughout the year. Let them participate in classes, student exercises and other school events. This is also the opportunity to invite potential PAC members to become future members and contibutors.
Mark,
All great ideas, Mark. Suggest that you be sure everything is working extremely well before you invite anyone in to observe or participate. If you want to invite PAC members to your school this is a good time to check out student satisfaction and services and data. How well are your students doing, what is the satisfaction level of teachers, staff, and students, are your alumni actively involved, do you have great relationships with the community? It is a real opportunity all around. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
We have 2 meetings per year to meet with our advisory committee members to make sure we are on track in the industry and providing our students with the most current update needs in the industry.
Cassandra,
Advisory board members are so important. They have answers and insight. All you have to do is ask them and value them. Two in-person meetings are great. We suggest that you plan at least two more conference call meetings and "meet" on line when you have challenges. People like to give their advice and like to be asked. See that as an opportunity. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
