Procedure 3.13.01

Part 1. Purpose

Subpart A. Program Advisory Committee Purpose

Program Advisory Committees exist to allow stakeholders to provide feedback and guidance to Career and Technical Programs.

Subpart B. Program Advisory Committee Procedure Purpose

Minnesota State Board Procedure 3.30.1 Program Advisory Committees requires each Minnesota State college to adopt a program advisory committee procedure. The purpose of this procedure is to establish consistent standards, processes, and conditions for the creation, operation, and assessment of Minneapolis College Program Advisory Committees.

Part 2. Definitions

Career Program: Defined in Minneapolis College Policy 3.13.

Department: Defined in Minneapolis College Policy 3.22.

Program: Defined in Minneapolis College Policy 3.22.

Program Advisory Committee: Defined in Minneapolis College Policy 3.13.

Program Representative: an instructor from the Program’s faculty who serves as the liaison between the Program Advisory Committee and the Program’s instructors, staff, and Academic Dean.

Technical Program: Defined in Minneapolis College Policy 3.13.

Part 3. Membership

Subpart A. Membership Requirements

A Program Advisory Committee’s membership shall consist of not less than five members who are employers or industry professionals including at least one alumnus of the Program.

Subpart B. Representation and Member Recruitment

The Program Representative and Academic Dean shall work together to identify and recruit Committee members. Committees shall review and update their membership each year to ensure that the Committee’s membership is consistent with the representation objectives established in College Policy 3.13, Part 4.

An external member of the advisory committee shall be the committee chair and facilitate the dialogue during advisory committee meetings. The identification of the chair will be determined by the members of the advisory committee.

Subpart C. Committee Members’ Terms and Reappointment

Each Program Advisory Committee shall establish terms of service for its members. The maximum term length shall be three years. Terms shall start on July 1 and end on June 30. The Committee should stagger its members’ terms so that no more than one-third of the Committee’s membership is in its final term in any year.

The Program Representative will contact all Committee members who are in the final year of their terms no later than January 15 to determine whether the Committee member desires to be reappointed for another term. Upon mutual agreement of the Committee member, the Program instructors, and the Academic Dean, a Committee member’s appointment may be renewed for another term. There is no limit to the number of terms a committee member may have.

Subpart D. Committee Membership Lists

The office of the Vice-President of Academic Affairs shall keep current lists of all Program Advisory Committees and their membership on file as the College’s official record of Program Advisory Committee participation.

Part 4. Meetings

Subpart A. Number of Meetings and Notice of Meeting

Program Advisory Committees meet at least once during each academic year. The Program Representative shall work with the Academic Dean to schedule Committee meetings and may schedule additional meetings as needed. A College staff member shall notify Committee members of the date, time, and location of Committee meetings no less than three weeks before the meeting.

Subpart B. Meeting Agendas and Minutes

The Program Representative shall establish the agenda for each committee meeting in consultation with the Academic Dean. The Program Representative shall gather information for distribution to Committee members before or at Committee meetings.

All Committee and subcommittee meetings must have written minutes. The College will provide administrative support for the preparation and distribution of these minutes. These minutes shall be distributed to the Committee or subcommittee members and a copy delivered to the office of the Vice-President of Academic Affairs within three weeks after the meeting date. The office of the Vice-President of Academic Affairs will keep copies of all Program Advisory Committee and subcommittee meeting minutes on file as the College’s official record of Program Advisory Committee actions.

Part 5. Evaluation

The College shall regularly evaluate its programs’ use of their Program Advisory Committees, including the diversity of advisory committee membership (as described in Part 4 of College Policy 3.13). and use the information obtained from these evaluations for continuous improvement.

Subpart A. College’s Evaluation of Program Advisory Committees

The Academic Affairs Division shall evaluate each program’s utilization of its Program Advisory Committee and its compliance with College Policy 3.13 and this Procedure as part of its Annual Evaluation of Academic Offerings. The Academic Dean shall notify the Program Representative of any policy compliance issues and work with the Program Representative and committee members to satisfactorily address them.

Subpart B. Program Advisory Committee Self Evaluation

At its final meeting for the academic year, each Program Advisory Committee should reflect on its work during the academic year. The Committee should survey its members individually to assess whether it met its goals for the academic year.

Owner(s) Title: Vice President of Academic Affairs

Date of Adoption: 1/11/2023

Date of Implementation (if different from adoption date): N/A

Date Last Amended: N/A

History and Subject of Revisions: 1/11/2023 (Adopted)

Regulatory Authority (e.g. Minnesota State policy, federal or state law):  Minnesota State Board Policy 3.30 and Procedure 3.30.01