Dr. Robert Roehrich

Dr. Stover: How long has your advisory board been together? Can you quantify in any way the level of contribution they have made to your school? For the past academic year (September-June), how many of your extern's have been employed by board members after completing their externship? At board meetings, are there discussions about the types of experiences your extern's should have and their success rates? How is this information assimilated and shared with pre-externship students? R. Roehrich

Dr. Stover: Excellent! What type of interview process do you use to identify and select potential members, beyond their resumes? Does your faculty participate in the advisory board meetings? How do they receive input to the textbook selection process? Do advisory board members attend graduation and/or other ceremonies conducted at the school? Are members invited to speak to classes within their specialty areas? Does your follow-up include how their suggestions were or were not implemented? R. Roehrich

Dr Stover: From your postings, it appears that you have identified areas for contributions from your advisory board and are capitalizing on their input. Would you please share other ways you utilize the advisory board for input to the operational, marketing and career placement functions at your school? R. Roehrich

Dr. Stover: You have aptly identified the real value of advisory committees; to the students. It's unfortunate that more schools, even the “large chain schools” haven't recognized the value that a well selected and operated board can contribute to a school's success. It would be interesting to learn if you can quantify the impact of your advisory board has had on your students. R. Roehrich

Syndia, I agree, but be sure you have an objective way to assess their contributions in addition to their recognizing their attendance at meetings. R. Roehrich

Joyce, Good plan, it appears that you're effectively internalizing the content of the course into a course of action. R. Roehrich

Joyce, This is a well thought-out and comprehensive approach and you've covered all the elements to provide a strong pattern of evidence. Good work!

Justin, Can you think of ways that you might engage your advisory board members beyond those posted in the Forum? R. Roehrich

Thanks Kathleen for participatingh in this discussion. R. Roehrich

Kathleen, I'm glad you're excited about asking your board members to speak to your classes. What are some strategies and preparations you will suggest to your board members to prepare them to address your students? R. Roehrich