Making Effective Use of an Advisory Committee for Your Media
Center
Michael J. Albright, Ph.D.
Academic Technology & Media Services
California State University, Monterey Bay
ннннннн The comments
that follow are oriented primarily toward media
managers in a higher education setting.н However, they are easily
generalizable to K-12, business, and other settings where
DEMM members
are employed.н
ннннннн Is your media
center buried in an organizational structure that gives
you little support, budgetary or otherwise? нAre you treated as a virtual
nonentity by senior administrators and other key
decision-makers?н Do
faculty members on your campus complain about lack of access
to media
resources because your center is underfunded and
understaffed?н Is
instructional technology routinely ignored in academic
planning documents
at your institution?
ннннннн If you answered
"Yes" to any of these questions, an advisory
committee can help.н
Many media managers in higher education do not have
the academic credentials, position status, and campus
reputation to be
influential in higher administrative circles, particularly
among those who
determine institutional priorities and allocate
budgets.н A carefully
selected advisory committee can represent your center's
interests in
places where you personally cannot go, help others on campus
learn more
about your center, its potential contributions, and its
needs, and assist
you in the performance of your managerial tasks.
ннннннн Committee
roles.н Some specific roles for an
advisory committee are
as follows:
ннннннн Assist in
strategic planning for the center.н An
advisory committee
can identify and prioritize the future directions for the
center.н Strategic
plans developed by a committee of the center's constituents
and
collaborators are much more likely to be taken seriously and
supported
and funded by administrators than plans devised unilaterally
by the center
staff with little outside consultation.
ннннннн Approve center
policy.н The advisory committee should be
consulted
during policy development and then approve the completed
policy
documents.н Again,
policies are much easier to defend and enforce if they
come from a committee of persons the center's customers
respect, and
with whom they can identify, and do not appear to emanate
arbitrarily
from the director's office.
ннннннн Serve as
advocate for the center.н If members of
the committee are
carefully selected, they can help to bring visibility to the
center and
ensure that the center's interests are represented in
meetings of
academic units, other committees, the faculty senate,
planning groups,
and other settings where the center needs advocacy.
ннннннн Serve as
conduit for faculty concerns regarding instructional
technology.н Faculty
members on the committee can raise issues and voice
concerns on the part of the faculty, keeping the director in
touch with
their attitudes toward the center.н Conversely, these individuals can
report back to their colleagues that the director is
concerned and is doing
everything possible to serve faculty interests and needs.
ннннннн Offer advice to
the director.н On many occasions, the
media center
director can benefit from outside consultation before making
decisions.н
This is a valuable function for the advisory committee.
ннннннн One function
that should be avoided at all costs is for the advisory
committee to have approval or disapproval authority over
departmental
equipment or software purchase requests.н The committee may set
campuswide standards or recommend formats or models, but a
few
disapprovals viewed by the requesting units or professors as
arbitrary and
unfair can do more than anything else to damage the advisory
committee's
credibility.н If
campus policy requires that requisitions for media
products be approved by your center, form another committee for
that
purpose.н Keep the
advisory committee out of it.
ннннннн Committee
membership.н Who should be on the
advisory committee?н
First of all, a couple of myths need to be dispelled.н One is that the
committee should be appointed by the president, chief academic
officer,
or some other high echelon official.н Another is that all major academic
units need to be "represented" on the
committee.н Either of these
conditions lead to political appointments of persons who are
friends (or
enemies) of the appointing officer or need promotion and
tenure credits
but don't necessarily have the inspiration to be productive
members of the
committee.н Such
committees tend to be next to useless and often set new
campus standards for absenteeism.
ннннннн Another mistake
is for the center director to appoint his or her own
personal friends to the committee.н These meetings often turn out to be
compelling social events but little else.
ннннннн It is, however,
strongly recommended that if campus policy permits,
the media center director or immediate reporting senior
(preferably the
former) should appoint the committee membership.н They are indeed
political appointees, but they should be your political
appointees!н The
ideal members of the committee are those who are in a
position to help
your center succeed in its mission, who have a strong
interest in the
success of the center, who are influential in high places,
who can serve
effectively as advocates for your center, who have the trust
and respect
of the center's customers, who can get things done, who can
provide
important liaisons, and whose cooperation you need.н This is a good
shopping list to follow when considering potential
members.н
ннннннн The most
important individual is the chair of the committee.н This
person should be someone who has routine access to the
highest levels of
the administration, has an impeccable reputation, is
technologically
literate, has a sincere interest in seeing your center
succeed, and is able
to get the job done.н
Without a strong chair, the committee will likely
flounder.н You should
not, under any circumstances, take the role of chair.н
Your role on the committee is as "ex-officio"
member.
ннннннн Faculty
representatives are essential.н They
should be persons who
have unique expertise that they can bring to the committee
(such as
instructional technology, architecture, or higher education
administration) or can provide liaison with other key
committees (e.g.,
academic planning, curriculum, classroom allocation, etc.)
and/or the
Faculty Senate.н At
least one faculty representative should be at the
assistant or associate dean level.н A representative from the office of the
vice president for academic affairs or provost can provide
vitally
important linkage there.
ннннннн Other committee
members should be appointed to fill specific roles,
depending upon the center's most significant needs.н Potential appointees
might include the directors of the campus library, computing
center,
faculty development center, or office of information
technology.н A
representative from the office that schedules classrooms
might be
extremely valuable.н
The physical plant should be represented, preferably
by someone from the facilities planning office who can wire
the
committee into new construction and renovation projects.н
ннннннн If support of
distance education programs is part of the center's
mission, a representative from the office that administers
those
programs should be on the committee.н It may also be politically
advantageous to include a member from the student
government.н Others
that might be considered include persons from other campus
media-
related centers, the campus public relations office, the
purchasing
department, and environmental health and safety.н
ннннннн A committee of
15-18 persons does not have to be unwieldy and may
turn out to be extremely productive.н The first time you call them all
together, you will likely sit back and watch in amazement as
they
establish liaisons among themselves.н It is entirely possible that they
have never before all sat around the same conference table
together.
ннннннн You know best
who the movers and shakers are on your campus, the
people who get things done and whose support is essential
for your center
to be effective.н
Don't hesitate to ask them to be on your advisory
committee, regardless of where they are on the VIP
scale.н Most of them
will be happy to serve, and the results can be
extraordinary.
ннннннн Keys to
success.н Having the right mix of
individuals on the
committee is half the battle.н The other half is to have specific agendas
and to work with the chair to keep the committee on
task.н These are folks
who take time out from very busy schedules to work for you
for an hour a
month or so.н Be
careful not to waste their time with disorganized
meetings, lack of carefully focused tasking, and a general
lack of support
on your part.н
ннннннн There is no
magical formula for how often to meet.н
Once or twice a
semester may be perfectly sufficient.н At other times, such as when a
report or plan must be generated, more frequent meetings may
be desired.н
ннннннн Don't forget to
express your gratitude to committee members for
their contributions.н
Recognize them in your newsletter.н
Send them thank
you notes when they complete important tasks.н And most important, thank
them verbally, in person.н
Let them know how grateful you are for their
help and support.
нннн
нннн