The Industry Advisory Board Event - A Decade of Best Practices

Abstract

As the leading global advocate of quality construction education, the mission of the American Council for Construction Education1 (ACCE) is to promote, support, and accredit quality construction education programs. ACCE is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the accrediting agency for master’s degree programs, four-year baccalaureate degree programs and two-year associate degree programs in construction, construction science, construction management, and construction technology. ACCE accredits approximately 100 construction programs at the associate, baccalaureate, and master’s degree levels.

The Industry Advisory Board (IAB) Event is one of the educational programs offered annually at the ACCE mid-year meeting in February. Launched in 2010, the IAB Event has gained steady support and momentum from both the construction industry and ACCE accredited academic programs. The daylong IAB Event format includes multiple sessions that focus specifically on the needs of IAB members and the academic programs they support. The IAB Event offers workshops, seminars, panel discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities that have demonstrated proven value to industry, academia, and administrative participants, year after year. This event is unique in demonstrating practical and real-world examples, such as: • The roles and responsibilities of IAB membership. • Meaningful industry participation at the local IAB level. • Communication strategies to engage a network of industry professionals for the exchange of ideas in an open forum. • The tools, training, and resources necessary to create and maintain a “high-impact” IAB.

The content of this paper examines the origins and evolution of the IAB Event; documents the progress of the event in terms of attendance; revenues and expenditures; programs, panel sessions, and workshops that have been presented; and outlines the value received by attendees in the form of evaluation surveys.