Transcript Gary C. White, M.Ed., RRT, RPFT

Re-Engaging Your
Advisory Committee:
From Improving Participation to Understanding
Their Role in the Accreditation Process
Gary C. White, M.Ed., RRT, RPFT
Spokane Community College, Spokane WA
Conflict of Interest
• I have no real or perceived conflict of
interest that relates to this presentation.
Any use of brand names is not in any
way meant to be an endorsement of a
specific product, but to merely illustrate
a point of emphasis.
Objectives
• Briefly describe the history of advisory
committees
• Describe the anatomy of an advisory
committee
• Describe the physiology of an advisory
committee
• Discuss ways to recruit members for
your advisory committee
Objectives
• Describe the purpose of an advisory
committee
• Discuss the indicators of an effective
advisory committee
• Describe ways you can improve your
advisory committee’s participation
• Describe the role the advisory
committee plays in CoARC
accreditation
History of Advisory Committees
• Early twentieth century
– vocational technical schools perceived a
threat from local school officials with
strong academic backgrounds
• US Congress 1917 – Smith-Hughes Act
– Encourage the use of citizen advisory
groups to facilitate planning and evaluation
of programs and to help link the programs
with schools and communities
History of Advisory Committees
• Between the 1940s through the late
1950s
– Use of advisory committees was not
uniform
– The success of the practice had a high
degree of variability
– The use of advisory committees was still
encouraged
History of Advisory Committees
• During the 1960s community colleges
and vocational-technical education
centers emerged
– The use of advisory committees became
more common practice
– There was an expansion of vocationaltechnical education offerings
History of Advisory Committees
• Vocational Education Act of 1963
established the National Advisory
Council for Vocational Education
– 1968 amendments included the first legal
mandate calling for the formation of state
advisory councils.
– Education Amendments of 1976
emphasized greater involvement than in
the past of national and state councils and
called specifically for advisory councils at
the local level.
History of Advisory Committees
• Carl D Perkins act 1984
– Advisory Panel and advisory committee
requirements
• State statutes
– The majority of state statutes require
advisory committees for career and
technical education programs
• Bottom line … “It’s not a CoARC
mandate folks”
Anatomy of an Advisory Committee
• Membership composed of the public,
students, faculty, and representatives
from business and industry (employers
& employees)
– Public member(s)
• Individual not affiliated with the profession
(patient?)
– Business / Industry Representatives
• Department managers
• Home care companies
• Therapists / Graduates
Anatomy of an Advisory Committee
• Student Representatives
– One representative per class or cohort
• Faculty
– Program Director
– Director of Clinical Education
– Full time / Part time faculty
• Medical Director
Anatomy of an Advisory Committee
• Selection process
– Appointment of members
• Dean or division administrator
• Program director recommendation to Dean or
division administrator
– Election of members
• Professional group/organization electing
members to the committee
– Size of the committee
• Try to keep it under 15 members
• It’s fun to herd cats!
Anatomy of an Advisory Committee
• Selection process
– Once a member agrees to serve, an
official appointment letter from the
institution should be sent
• Helps to formalize the commitment
– Terms of service
• Set up a rotation (three years is typical)
• Sometimes member rotation can be
problematic
– Personally I like my area managers on the
committee
Anatomy of an Advisory Committee
• Job description(s)
– Defines a specific and important role on
the committee
– Facilitates reporting back to the committee
– Encourages engagement
– Formalizes the relationship with the group
Voting and Non-Voting Members
• Washington State Statute
– Only industry members are voting
members of an advisory committee
• Hospital representatives
• Home care representatives
• Long term care representatives
– Non-voting members
• Faculty
• Students
• MD directors
Voting and Non-Voting Members
• Advisory committee roster must
designate
– Voting members
– Non-voting members
Any voting before the committee must be
reflected in the minutes
• Non-voting membership input
– Still valued and important
– Often these members provide insight that
is missed by others
Recruiting Members
• Recruitment of new members can feel
like competition with effectively running
a respiratory care program.
– With enforcement of term limits, recruiting
new members is essential
– Recruiting new members annually does
take time
• Have the members of the committee assist in
the process
Recruiting Members
• Ideas for recruitment
– Program alumni
– Clinical/Internship Site staff
– Representatives from Professional
Organizations Associated
– Retired faculty/Staff of the program
– Representatives from business/industry
who hire graduates
Recruiting Members
• “Making Linkages” exercise
– Members of the committee identify a
potential pool of new members
– Make assignments for individual members
to contact and recruit others
– Facilitates some ownership and “buy in” to
being part of the group
Physiology of Advisory Committees
“Care and Feeding”
• Orientation
– A brief training on purpose, function,
organizational structure
– Orientation can be more formalized
• Workshop / Orientation
• May involve other
departments/divisions/colleges
• Computer based
• Provide a copy of your institution’s Advisory
Committee Handbook to each member
Physiology of Advisory Committees
“Care and Feeding”
• Frequency of full committee orientation
– Should occur bi-annually for the committee
• Orientation of new chair
– Should occur annually with appointment of
new chair
Physiology of Advisory Committees
“Care and Feeding”
• Ethics Laws
– Abstain or recusal from voting
• Purchase of equipment when that individual is
a sole source or will profit from the decision
• Curriculum issues
– When individual(s) may benefit from changes in
course offerings
» Paid adjunct faculty
» Benefits to institutions
Physiology of Advisory Committees
“Care and Feeding”
• Charter and bylaws
– Establish operational guidelines
• Regular meetings
– 2 – 3 times per year
– Establishes working relationships among
members
– Facilitates development of a biennial work
plan
• Election of committee chair
Purpose of Advisory Committees
• Provide input to curriculum and
instruction
– Can be essential to move desired
curriculum changes through curriculum
committees
– Provide guidance for new industry
requirements
• Provide programmatic review
– Advisory committees are a great tool for
programmatic assessment
Purpose of Advisory Committees
• Assist with recruitment and job
placement
– Recruiting new program faculty
– Placing graduates
• Assist with student organizations
– Judging skills/knowledge
– Sponsoring activities
– Fund raising
– Career/Portfolio development
Purpose of Advisory Committees
• Assist with faculty professional
development
– Sabbatical opportunities
– In-service opportunities
• Provide help with community / public
relations
– Career fairs
– Pre-College career orientations
– Meeting with HS counselors
Purpose of Advisory Committees
• Assist with resource evaluation and
procurement
– Invite the committee to your lab for a
meeting
• Committee support helps with acquiring new
equipment
– The managers know what’s on their “wish
list”
• Make certain both your program and your
clinical sites have the same goals
Purpose of Advisory Committees
• Assist with or support legislative efforts
– State budgets are tight
• Higher education is often “low hanging fruit”
– Often the community / industry leaders are
well connected
• Have them make phone calls
• Have them express the positive contribution
your program makes for their institution /
business
Indicators of Advisory Committee
Effectiveness
• Develops and carries out an annual
plan of action
– Put the plan in writing
– Establish a “sub-committee” if needed
– Make specific assignments with due dates
• Articulates long and short term goals
– Put the plans in writing
– Make certain the plan(s) are in the minutes
Indicators of Advisory Committee
Effectiveness
• Regularly reviews curriculum
– Are industry needs being met?
– Are student needs being met?
– What trends does the committee see?
• Positive
• Needs improvement
– What specifically
– How can the program effectively address it?
Indicators of Advisory Committee
Effectiveness
• Promotes and helps to publicize the
program
– Your program doesn’t need to be a “Best
Kept Secret”
– The profession needs positive press in the
local community
• Assesses the impact of
recommendations annually
– Document this in your meeting minutes
Indicators of Advisory Committee
Effectiveness
• Reviews programmatic outcome data
– The program goal(s)
• Annually!
– The Program’s NBRC results
• Print and share the “Annual School Summary
Report”
– Graduate placement
– CoARC Graduate and Employer Survey
results
– Document all of this in the meeting
minutes!
Improving Advisory Committee
Participation
• Recognition of member(s) contributions
– Letters from campus administrators
– Committee recognition of member(s)
contributions
• Listen to your committee don’t tell them
– The members want input
– The members want to see action
– The members don’t want to waste time
Improving Advisory Committee
Participation
• Implement recommendations that are
made
– Committees get excited when they see
action and results
– Most members are results oriented
– Show progress toward recommended
change(s)
– Written documentation can help to keep a
focus and a goal
Improving Advisory Committee
Participation
• Are there joint public/private or
private/private projects that can be
implemented?
– Sometimes there are funding sources that
either party may not be aware of
– Work jointly to bring in new revenue
streams to support the college and the
program
– Sometimes a little seed money can really
blossom
Improving Advisory Committee
Participation
• Mentorship programs
– Advisory committee members mentoring
students
• Can help with attrition
– Members mentoring new members or
mentorship toward chair
• Sharing knowledge
– Industry sharing with students (guest
speakers)
– Faculty helping to with clinical staff
continuing education
Improving Advisory Committee
Participation
• Organization of a “Speakers Bureau”
– Often community groups want healthcare
presentations
– What a great way to promote the
profession
– What a great way to promote the program
• Engaged members help to drive
change and improve quality
• FOOD!!!
Advisory Committees and
Accreditation
• Standard 3.01
– Advisory committee annually reviews the
program’s goal(s)
• Document this in your committee minutes
• My program makes this a Fall agenda item
– I read and distribute the program’s goal
– There is a formal vote to accept the program’s goal
– The results of the vote are recorded in the minutes
– The committee can recommend additional
goal(s)
Advisory Committees and
Accreditation
• Standard 3.04
– An advisory committee, with
representation from each of the
communities of interest and key personnel
must meet at least annually
• Assist in reviewing and evaluating any
changes to educational goals
• Program outcomes
• Instructional effectiveness
• Program response to change
Advisory Committees and
Accreditation
• Standard 3.04
– The communities of interest that serve the
program must include but are not limited
to, students, graduates, faculty, college
administrators, employers, physicians and
the public
Advisory Committees and
Accreditation
• Required record keeping
– Review of program goal(s) annually by the
advisory committee
• Documentation in the advisory committee
minutes
– Membership list
• Update annually
• Include identification with the community of
interest that the members serve to represent
Advisory Committees and
Accreditation
• Required record keeping
– Minutes and attendance from each
advisory committee meeting
• Should be factual and reflect the meeting
• The minutes aren’t a newsletter
Conclusion
• I have described the anatomy and
physiology of an effective advisory
committee
• The purpose of the advisory committee
has been developed
• I have described ways to improve
participation in your own advisory
committee
Conclusion
• I have described some key indicators of
effective advisory committees
• Now …
– Go home and make a plan
• Involve key members of your committee in that
plan
– Put your plan(s) in writing
– Get your advisory committee members
engaged