Page 192 - Crisis in Higher Education

Building Bridges to Potential Employers • 163

they are learning, see how they might apply it, and study harder
and learn more so they are better prepared.
c. Create better mechanisms to link graduates and employers:
Universities should develop mechanisms so students and
employers can become better acquainted and gain insights about
each other so job placements are enhanced for both groups.

8.2 CREATING PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARDS

Program advisory boards (PABs) are vehicles for reaching out to poten-
tial employers, graduate schools, and licensure and certification agencies.
The primary purposes of PABs are to determine curricula and set perfor-
mance standards so graduates are well prepared; that is, they are able to
work in entry-level positions without substantial supplemental training
and education. PABs enable tenured faculty to understand the hands-on
aspects of work and give potential employers an appreciation of concepts
and theories. It is this blending process that (1) increases common ground
between faculty and employers and (2) enhances the quality of curricula.
PABs should allow employers to get to know students and provide faculty
with “real-world” support as they seek approval for new curricula through
a laborious and convoluted university review process.
PABs should be built at the program/major level rather than at the col-
lege or university level. This is essential because having separate PABs
in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, finance, social work,
and nursing enable relationships with different employers so content and
standards are appropriate for the subject matter and employment oppor-
tunities. In departments with only one program/major, it is clear that
only one PAB is needed. Other departments may have more than one
program, and they require one PAB for each program. A few interdisci-
plinary programs are supported by faculty in more than one discipline or
department, so only one advisory board is needed, even though two or
more departments support the program.
Membership in PABs usually includes leadership from the university,
which may be a department chair or program director, as well as ten-
ured and professional faculty from the program and well-placed indus-
try executives. These executives should be working in the field of study
around which the PAB is organized. Thus, a PAB for a civil engineering