Toward More Impactful Higher Education Advisory Boards: Foundational Elements for Success

This project examines what makes for a successful advisory board within a higher education institution. Advisory boards play an important role in higher education, bringing industry insights, alumni experience, community connections, and outside expertise on a range of topics. A core challenge of advisory boards is a lack of consistency in their structure and operation which can result in these groups being less than effective or even perfunctory. This is a missed opportunity to engage volunteers, leverage outside expertise, and build important external connections, and develop long-term advocates. Poorly managed and ineffective boards can also be a drain on resources and staff time and could be a competitive disadvantage in student recruitment, graduate career readiness, or fundraising compared with schools that can use advisory boards effectively. This project reviews theories behind how boards function and research on what makes boards successful. Foundational elements to board success are identified, including board purpose, board culture, member composition, governance structure, and information sharing, and detailed in a guide to aid staff and faculty in higher education in developing and managing successful advisory boards.