gary c. white, m.ed., rrt, rpft spokane community college, spokane wa

Gary C. White, M.Ed., RRT, RPFTSpokane Community College, Spokane WA

Re-Engaging Your Advisory Committee:

From Improving Participation to Understanding Their Role in the Accreditation Process

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


• 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


• 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 vocational-

technical education offerings


• 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.


• 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


• Student Representatives– One representative per class or cohort

• Faculty– Program Director– Director of Clinical Education– Full time / Part time faculty

• Medical Director


• 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!


• 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


• 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 membersAny 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


• Frequency of full committee orientation– Should occur bi-annually for the committee

• Orientation of new chair– Should occur annually with appointment of

new chair


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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?


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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)


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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

gary c. white, m.ed., rrt, rpft spokane community college, spokane wa

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