Program Advisory Meeting (PAM) Guide

The Program Advisory Meeting (PAM) Guide is a resource for faculty and includes information to consider when planning and implementing the meeting, as well as post-meeting activities.

PAM Description and General Purpose

The Program Advisory Meeting (PAM) is designed to provide faculty with insights to enhance the degree program, to align curriculum and program outcomes with workplace and/or graduate school current and future practice, and to build and maintain connections with individuals in the prospective field.

Create Meeting Objective(s) and Topics

Determine the objective(s) for the meeting based on what needs to be accomplished and the information needed to move the program forward. Determine the topics that need to be discussed in order to accomplish the identified objective(s).
Examples of potential objectives/topics focused on one or more of the following:
- Review of the current curriculum.
- Discover trends in the external environment related to the discipline, including opportunities such as new minors, certificates, courses, etc.
- Determine current and emerging technology trends and how these can be addressed in the curriculum.
- Identify important employee skills outside the discipline areas (e.g., communication, collaboration/team, etc.) students need to be successful in their future careers.
- Develop potential collaboration opportunities/activities with meeting participants/organizations, such as internships, job placements, field trips, speaking engagements, etc.

Potential Meeting Agenda Items

Start with introductions
Have the Division’s Associate Vice Chancellor and Department Chair(s) visit and provide a brief high-level overview (division and campus-level)
Provide a brief overview of the program (e..g, enrollment numbers, enrollment trends (numbers from last several years), etc.
Discuss/ask the questions related to meeting objectives (see above).
Final question: What topic have we not discussed that you think would be important for our program and students?
Ask participants what their key takeaways are from the conversation
Share potential actions moving forward.

Meeting Frequency, Length, and Modality

Programs are strongly encouraged to conduct their PAM at least once during the Program Review cycle (every six years).
Recommended meeting duration: 2 to 3 hours
When considering the length of the meeting, be considerate of the time the participants are giving to the meeting (as working professionals with busy schedules).
Be sure to start and end on time (consideration for the meeting participants)
Meetings can be completely in-person, completely online, or in a hybrid format (some in-person and some online).

Potential PAM Members

When determining the appropriate individuals to invite to the meeting, based on the meeting objectives and topics, consider reaching out to others for suggestions (e.g., Alumni and Donor Relations regarding alumni and established corporate partners).

Internship employers that have previously had UMN Crookston interns
Potential employers
Professionals working in the discipline
Program faculty and/or admissions staff from disciplinary-relevant graduate programs
Grad students, faculty, and/or administrators from similar programs at other institutions
Program alumni
Previous PAM meeting participants

Additional Considerations

Consider contacting Alumni and Donor Relations (A&DR) to help determine potential alumni and/or professionals related to your degree program, to serve as PAM members.
Email A&DR the names of the alumni participating in your PAM so they can update their alumni engagement system and potentially provide an alumni gift.
Consider reaching out to Career Services to provide information to PAM members on how to post open positions on Handshake, and to discuss internships and employment opportunities for UMN Crookston students.

Documentation

Before Meeting
- Provide participants with the agenda, a copy of the current curriculum, questions to consider prior to the meeting, and other materials related to the topics that will be discussed in the meeting.
During Meeting
- Capture meeting notes (have a designated note taker, if possible).
- Identify key takeaways and determine potential next steps.
After Meeting ○ Send meeting notes to faculty in the program as well as the department admin, appropriate Associate Vice Chancellor, and Vice Chancellor’s office.
- Send thank you cards or emails to participants with next steps.
- Upload the meeting notes and next steps to a central department and/or campus repository (Canvas site or Google Drive).

Support Provided by Department Admin and Associate Vice Chancellor

Prior to scheduling the meeting, contact the appropriate Associate Vice Chancellor to determine the level of logistical and monetary support the department will provide.

Logistical support
- Logistical support may include scheduling the meeting, sending Zoom calendar invitations to meeting members, scheduling technology support (if needed), arranging for refreshments, reserving meeting location, attending the meeting and taking meeting notes, etc.
Monetary support
- Monetary support may include meals, snacks, small UMN Crookston gifts, thank you cards, etc.