Title: Does the industry advisory board enhance education quality?

Authors: Ghaleb A. El Refae; Mahmoud Yousef Askari; Loay Alnaji

Addresses: Al Ain University of Science and Technology, College of Business, P.O. Box 64141, Al Ain, UAE ' Al Ain University of Science and Technology, College of Business, P.O. Box 64141, Al Ain, UAE ' Al Ain University of Science and Technology, College of Business, P.O. Box 64141, Al Ain, UAE

Abstract: This paper is an attempt to study the role of the advisory board members in improving education quality and to determine if such role improves education quality. The study utilised a questionnaire that was constructed based on the literature review covering advisory board tasks, roles, and member characteristics and the effects of these factors on the quality of education. Three out of five correlations (culture/community related variables, university administration related variables, and diversity of advisory board members) were found to be significant and are consistent with previous literature. Also, the role of the advisory board in facilitating a smooth transition of students to the labour market and the issue of graduates' employability are highlighted in this paper for future research.

Keywords: industry advisory boards; education quality; diversity; advisory board members; culture; cultural variables; community variables; university administration; higher education; graduate employability.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2016.078800

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2016 Vol.12 No.1, pp.32 - 43

Received: 18 Mar 2016
Accepted: 14 Apr 2016
Published online: 02 Sep 2016 *

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