Advisory Board Membership
What are the steps you will take to form an Advisory Board?
Sheri,
I would agree that it's good to have diversity on your board. I'm not sure how many employers you need on your board. Since your focus is your alumni, I might limit your board to a few employers, a few grads and representatives from your institution's departments that might benefit from alumni contact.
June Gudeman
I would do several things. I would contact employers who have recently hired our graduates. I would invite employers from a variety of company types (ie. small, medium and large companies), so all types of employers are represented. I would also encourage them to ask the graduates that they hired from us to join them.
I would enlist the help of the other departments, especially Education. The instructors know industry professionals so I would ask them to invite those individuals.
I would also identify successful alumni and those who struggled and invite them to join. I think it is important to have a diverse advisory board, this will allow for different opinions, ideas and resources.
Cesar G ,
Fantastic! I'm glad to hear you're including those critical members of your staff on your advisory board.
June Gudeman
Actually, I'm the Director of Career Services and I do invite instructors and Program Chairs. It is vital to include Career Services staff because they are the ones that work with the student post graduation to assist with placement. As for the instructors, they spend most of the time with the student during their academic career. They know the students and have built a solid rapport throughout their time on campus. This helps us keep the graduate engaged and up to date on campus events and activities.
Cesar G ,
Great thoughts and ideas! I appreciate how you've thought beyond just who to choose for your board, but also determined how to keep them involved. I'm curious if you've considered inviting some of your own staff (representatives of career services or student services, instructors) to be a part of your advisory board?
June Gudeman
When forming an Advisory Board it is important to look at your current employers, community leaders and graduates. This will give you a well rounded board that will provide positive and constructive feedback on programs and campus culture. As you cultivate these relationships you must keep them engaged by inviting them to speak to current students and participate in campus activities. If you provide information on successes and opportunities for improvement the board members will feel obligated to respond to any requests made. Usually, a invitation to tour the campus will initiate the conversation of joining the Advisory Board.
Shannon,
Involving industry professionals and HR managers would certainly bring about valuable connections for your school and your graduates. Our alumni, typically, are very interested in any assistance we can provide related to career services/networking/placement. That being said, I'd encourage you to also think about inviting a representation of your own staff (student services. administration, instructors, etc.) to be part of your board as you work together to consider the direction of your alumni community.
June Gudeman
The steps I will take to form an Advisory Board is to identify, invite, and recruit industry specific professionals, leaders, HR managers that can provide valuable input, experience, and exposure not only to our academic program but also their company and/or organization. I feel by doing this I can leverage not all the valuable information and insight that they have but also build a relationship with our organization that could potentially benefit our students.
Dan,
Great! Remember that people appreciate being asked. It communicates that you value them and their opinion. If you don't get the volunteers you need, you may want to consider targeting specific grads and asking them to be a part of your team.
June Gudeman
I plan on inviting specific staff and faculty and asking for grad and student volunteers
Dan,
This looks like a good mix or balance of folks for your advisory board. I'm curious how you might decide on staff/faculty/grads/employees? Will you ask for volunteers or invite individuals to be part of your team?
June Gudeman
Along with staff, faculty, directors, graduates and employers, we will seek out well known members of the industry our grads have chosen to help give a broader scope and expand awareness of our school.
Karen,
It sounds like you have a nice variety of contributors. I like your idea of including current students. I agree they might have some good input and it would help get the word out to your current students that you have a program for them after they graduate!
June Gudeman
The steps I would take to form an Advisory Board would be to invite staff, faculty, Board of Directors of our school, neighboring businesses, invite members of our local Chamber of Commerce. I would also invite Alumni and current students. I feel that the current students would have good input as to what they would like to have when they become alumni.
Susan,
I like your ideass on this. Particularly, the importance of immediate involvement and a listening culture. Probably the only other thing I would add or comment on is that, although it is good to ask for volunteers, there are probably some individuals (staff and/or alumni) that you know would be a great asset to the team. I would encourage you to pursue and invite those individuals to participate. People like to to asked, particularly if the person asking for their involvement can explain the 'value' they would add to the team. Just a thought.
June Gudeman
I think the course provided a good initial approach to forming an Advisory Board. First, announce the volunteer opening around the campus, including faculty, staff, students, administration. Then contact graduates and offer the opportunity to them. Further, use networking sites and personal contacts to reach out to leaders in the community to be a part of the advisory board. From that initial large group of people, some will drop out, but the ones who are motivated to give back to the school and future graduates will continue to serve. Also, it's important to get everyone involved right away and be sure that the group culture involves listening to others.
Laurie,
People enjoy being asked to be on a committee or team. It communicates that you've thought about it and decided they have something to offer that you're looking for. I totally agree that large committees can be 'unruly'. I believe a small hand-picked team can accomplish way more than a large group of well-meaning volunteers.
June Gudeman
Laurie,
That sounds fantastic!! I am very interested in how your once a month conference calls go. I really think asking for a one year commitment is a wise move on your part. It requires a certain level of commitment without asking for too much.
June Gudeman
We have decided to limit our advisors by invitation only. We have over 5000 grads and having been on many advisory boards in my career, large committees can become unruly. However, we do intend to switch some advisors annually to give many folks a chance to participate.
