The Development of a Handbook for Technical Advisory Committee Members at Delgado Community College

Research has suggested that in order to survive in the 1990’s, community colleges must increase public awareness of their roles in society, encourage employer-specific programs and services, and initiate closer working relationships with industry. One strategy to accomplish these objectives is through the establishment of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for each technical program. Among TAC activities are providing relevant information on community training needs, curricular standards, and safety requirements of the occupation. This report describes the methodology used to develop a handbook to assist TAC members at Louisiana’s Delgado Community College (DCC) in understanding and fulfilling their role. Chapter 1 reviews the history of the college. Chapter 2 discusses relevant literature on TACs. Chapter 3 presents the steps involved in the development of the handbook, which included solicitation of existing materials from other colleges, and interviews with business and industry representatives. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the results of the handbook development process, and present conclusions and recommendations. The resulting TAC handbook is appended. The first section reviews DCC’s mission and purpose, the second lists technical programs at DCC, and the third presents information on the functions of advisory committees, the selection and length of service of members, and operational considerations. The final section of the handbook describes the scope of the TAC’s work, which includes community surveys, career guidance, graduate placement, curriculum advisement, public relations, recruiting, and program evaluation.