DOCUMENT RESUME HE 027 967 ED 377 783 AUTHOR Teitel, Lee The Advisory Committee Advantage. Creating an TITLE Effective Strategy for Programmatic Improvement. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Association for the Study of Higher Education.; ERIC INSTITUTION Clearinghouse on Higher Education, Washington, D.C.; George Washington Univ., Washington, DC. School of Education and Human Development. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), SPONS AGENCY Washington, DC. ISBN-1-878380-57-5; ISSN-0884-0040 REPORT NO PUB DATE 94 CONTRACT RR93002008 121p.; For a digest of this report, see HE 027 NOTE 966. George Washington University, One Dupont Circle, AVAILABLE FROM N.W., Suite 630, Washington, DC 20036 ($18). ERIC Clearinghouse Products Information Analyses PUB TYPE (071) EDRS PRICE MFU1 /FC°5 Plus Postage. Accountability; Administrator Attitudes; *Advisory DESCRIPTORS Committees; *College Administration; Colleges; Higher Education; Organizational Effectiveness; Policy Formation; *Program Improvement; *School Community Relationship; School Policy; Universities Advisers; 'Advisor Role IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This report addresses the advisory committee's role in the administration of institutions of higher education. Under decreased resources and increased pressures for more accountability, advisory committees are an effective way to help connect universities and colleges to their environments. Advisory committees may range from those that consult to university presidents on broad policy issues to committees that focus on specific tasks and decisions. Existing studies on advisory committee effectiveness are primarily from the vocational education and community college sectors, and they document widespread existence of committees that exist on paper only. institutional A committee is more likely to be effective if: (1) (2) committee members are representatives desire its input, knowledgeable, committed, and given recognition; (3) committee (4) expectations about processes are effective and meaningful; and the committee's role arr clear. Individual chapters of this report address the following aspects of advisory committees: the nature of advisory committees; reasons for establishing an advisory committee; advisory committees; a vocational education case study in mandated attitudes, expectations of deans, directors, and staff; the motivation and commitment of volunteers; the impact of group dynamics; a case study on the independence of an advisory committee; and suggestions for starting and sustaining an advisory committee. (Contains 120 references.) (JB) 1994 Report One ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports The Advisory Committee Advantage Creating an Effective Strategy for Programmatic Improvement Lee Teitel .1.7:Th$, ., ... '' .4., 0.- .1 ';' s' ll: f9e' , -. --. Is-,ary .... -1'.- / , Vst 7 ft' `-.. -............_,_ . it tir 4,.. #044 A.409 arr.4 '6 VO1Cf.l.t . , ??ri.e4toteliso.r.45 '.... triJAAA Vi.:,,,?.. r ...,._:, , , V.0 ,,i 1. (--. 1.4 I Ns EDUCATION U S DEPARTMENT Of 4 31, and Improvement Jv 011.ce 04 Educahonat Research INFORMATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES NCENTER (ERIC) been reproduced as () In* document hes organtzahon trom the person or received ri) originating it been made to improve ll Minor changes have reproductron Quaid). staled inthiSdocu Points of view or opinions official neCeSSainly represent not do meet GERI posdron or Doacv ti BEST COPY AVAILABLE The Advisory Committee Advantage: Creating an Effective Strategy for Programmatic Improvement by Lee Teitel ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1, 1994 Prepared by Clearinghouse on Higher Education ERIC The George Washington Univenity In cooperation with Association for the Study ASH of Higher Education Published by The velorge School of Education and Human Development nington The George Washington University nwersity WASHINGTON DC Jonathan D. Fife, Series Editor Cite as Teitel, Lee 1994. The Advisory Committee Advantage: Creating an Effective Strategy for Programmatic Improvement. ASHE- ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1. Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 94-73327 ISSN 0884-0040 ISBN 1-878380-57-5 Managing Editor: Bryan Hollister Manuscript Editor: Barbara Fishel, Editech Cover design by Michael David Brown, Rockville, Maryland The ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education invites indi- viduals to submit proposals for writing monographs for the ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report series. Proposals must include: 1. A detailed manuscript proposal of not more than five pages. 2. A chapter-by-chapter outline. 3. A 75-word summary to be used by several review commit- tees for the initial screening and rating of each proposal. 4. A vita and a writing sample. [EFucl Clearinghouse on Higher Education School of Education and Human Development The George Washington University One Dupont Circle, Suite 630 Washington, DC 20036-1183 This publication was prepared partially with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. ED RR-93-0200. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or the Department. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Advisory committees are effective ways to help connect uni- versities and colleges to their environments. Interest in advi- sory committees has increased in recent years as institutions of higher education and their programs face intense chal- lenges in adapting to and meeting today's needs. Driven, in many cases, by declining enrollments and/or diminishing budgets, institutions find themselves under increased pressure to do more with less. At the same time, demands and expec- tations for responsiveness and accountability have increased, requiring greater interaction with the world outside the ivory tower. Advisory committees represent a "bridge to the exter- nal public" (Thompson 1984, p. 27), and the growth of inter- est in advisory committees shares its roots with the recent surge of attention to strategic planning and total quality man- agement. Advisory committees can provide mechanisms at all levels of higher education to help improve communication and interaction with the outside world. They can provide fresh insights, powerful connections, access to valuable resources, and excellent public relations. In conjunction with a strategic plan or total quality management, they can be key elements in renewing and revitalizing an institution. What Are Advisory Committees? What Do They Do? The simple definition of an advisory committee is a group of volunteers that meets regularly on a long-term basis to pro- vide advice and,/or support to an institution or one of its sub- units. Advisory committees can range from those that consult to university presidents on the broadest of policy issues (Scott 1988) to committees that focus on the nitty-grittywhat machine shop tools a community college should buy, for example (Corley 1988). By opening a window of exchange with members of the broader society, advisory committees can help institutions with a host of important functions: strengthening programs, improving management, reviewing and evaluating mission, programs, and services, recruiting personnel, raising funds, promoting public relations, and improving relationships with other organizations (Cuninggim 1985, pp. 5-16). The first three functions, and sometimes the fourth, are truly advisory in nature, as the committee provides external input into internal processes; the last three fall more into the support category, with committee members serving the organization by helping in the outside world. iii The Advisory Committee Advantage 5 What Is an Effective Advisory Committee? The level of the advisory committee's work varies tremen- dously along a spectrum of involvement and activity. Some committees exist in name only and have never met or, after one organizational meeting;go on for years on paper. Others meet once or twice annually, for largely ceremonial purposes. Others are largely a collection of advisers who might indi- vidually provide advice or support but whose committees rarely, if ever, meet. At the other end of the spectrum are occa- sionally overinvolved advisory committees. They provide advice where none is wanted, and they get involved in affairs that should be left for program directors, staff, or faculty. Effective advisory committees avoid both extremes. They are committees that meet regularly and work together to pro- vide advice and/or support that contributes significantly to the program's or institution's improvement. Even within this definition of effectiveness, however, can be a broad range of activity. Some advisory committees serve mostly as boost- ers, raising funds, providing connections to outside resources, promoting public relations, and, in general, providing impor- tant support and service while offering little or no advice. Although not technically "advisory," they are included here because they are a common type of advisory committee and because they can make significant contributions to a program. Committees that do provide advice range fLom those whose focus and direction are carefully directed by the staff, admin- istration, or faculty to those with significant independence whose advice covers a wide scope and range of topics. Some committees provide service as well as advice. How Many Advisory Committees Are Effective? Determining how many advisory committees are effective is difficult for two reasons. First, not everyone agrees on the definition of effectiveness. Some deans or program directors, for instance, might be happy with a ceremonial committee comprised of high-profile individuals in the community who meet once a year and say nice things about the program. Other administrators, who reluctantly establish an advisory group because of an external mandate, might be pleased to have it exist solely on paper. Some deans might he very happy to have a committee of advisers r.) call on for individual con- sultation and advice. Such committees do not meet the earlier definition of an effective advisory committee, however, be- it 6 cause they do not work together to contribute significantly to the program's or institution's improvement. Second, studies of advisory committees' effectiveness are very rare. Institutions might list their advisory committees in their bulletins and reports, but they are unlikely to collect information about their effectiveness and even less likely to report it in the literature. The few existing studies on effec- tiveness are in the vocational education and community col- lege sectors and were conducted by outside agencies that contacted committee members directly. They document the widespread existence of paper committees whose "mem- bers" did not even know they were "serving" (Massachusetts Dept. of Education 1985, 1986). Other, anecdotal evidence also suggests that many programs and institutions do not ef- fectively use their advisory committees for advice or support (Axelrod 1991; Laney 1984). What Makes an Advisory Committee Effective? An advisory group is more likely to be effective at providing advice and support when: 1. Institutional representatives (deans, directors, staff, faculty) genuinely desire the committee's input; 2. The committee is comprised of knowledgeable, com- mitted individuals whose interest in volunteering their own time is sustained by appropriate recognition and rewards; . 3. The committee's group processes and procedures for gov- ernance allow for regular meetings, a sense of engagement and ownership, and sufficient access to information about the program or institution so that the committee can offer useful advice and support; 4. The expectations about the roles of the committee in pro- viding advice and support are clear, consister' and well communicated. How Can Those Woridng with Advisory Committees Improve Their Effectiveness? The staff, faculty, and administrators who work with advisory committees need to think through how much support and/ although they or advice they really want. Advisory groups, afford great potential, usually require additional work for man- agement and can complicate matters. Institutional represen- The Advisory Committee Advantage tatives need to decide what kinds of support or how much advice they want and then clearly communicate it to potential committee members. The greatest source of dissatisfaction with advisory committees comes from poor communications and a mismatch of expectations. Potential members who accept an invitation to join an advisory committee to provide advice and input are usually pleased and even proud to be recognized for their "acknowledged expertise" (Light 1982), but if they find themselves in a ceremonial role, lacking the information and the opportunity to make a contribution to the program, they can become quite disgruntled. Many such problems can be avoided if institutional representatives clearly and consistently communicate their expectations for the com- mittee's roles in advice and service. Similarly, individuals invited to serve on an advisory committee should seek infor- mation about expectations and roles before they say "yes." The potential benefits of advisory committees in a pro- gram's improvement are enormous, but for many advisory committees, the potential is not fully realized. ter a CONTENTS iii Executive Summary ix Foreword Xi Acknowledgments Introduction 1 3 What Are Advisory Committees? The Simple Definition 3 7 Institutional and Programmatic Advisory Committees 11 Why Establish an Advisory Committee? Help in Interacting with the Environment Advisory Committees in Institutional Planning 12 and Improvement 13 Practical Reasons to Establish an Advisory Committee Factors Contributing to the Formation of 15 Advisory Committees 16 Changing Needs for Advisory Committees 18 External Pressures The Vocational Education Story: A Case Study 19 in Mandated Advisory Committees 19 The Growing Use of Advisory Committees 20 The History of Perceived Ineffectiveness 21 Efforts to Improve Advisory Committees' Effectiveness Issues and Implications Involving Mandated 22 Advisory Committees Attitudes and Expectations of Deans, Directors, 25 and Staff 25 Clarifying Advisory Committees Roles and Expectations 26 The Spectrum of Advisory Committees 27 The Rubber Stamp Syndrome How Much Input Do Institutional Representatives 29 Really Want? 33 The Motivation and Commitment of Volunteers 33 Why Do Volunteers Volunteer? 33 Types of Commitment 35 Types of Motivation 36 Degree of Effort 38 Effort Integrating Motivation, Commitment, and Degree of 43 The Impact of Group Dynamics 43 Tasks Facing Any Group 47 Stages of Group Formation How Important Are the Group's Cohesion and 49 High-Performance Norms? rni The Advisory Committee Advantage a 0 Factors Contributing to an Independent Advisory Committee 52 How Independent Can an Advisory Committee Get? A Case Study 59 The Case 59 The Issues 62 Suggestions for Starting and Sustaining an Advisory Committee 65 Planning and Establishing an Advisory Committee 65 Orienting Members and Conducting Meetings 69 Developing an Organizational Structure and Scope 71 Rewarding and Evaluating Committees 74 Conclusion 77 Practical Advice for Institutional Representatives 78 Practical Advice for Committee Members 81 Implications of the Relativist View of Advisory Committees 83 References 87 Index 97 ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports 103 Advisory Board 105 Consulting Editors 107 Review Panel 109 Recent Titles 111 Order Form 117 10