Stockton’s HTMS Program Uses A New Form Of AI to Connect Its Advisory Board with Their Students

By: Jennifer Aarons, EdD, Assistant Professor; Noel Criscione-Naylor, EdD, Associate Professor and Bill Quain, PhD, Professor, of Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management Studies, Stockton University

AI is everywhere!  We receive warnings about it, tantalizing news stories about it, and let’s face it, we’re all a little nervous about AI’s impact on our lives, professions and families.  But… that's the scary AI – Artificial Intelligence.  The HTMS Program’s faculty discovered a new, friendly, encouraging and easy-to-understand form of AI – Advisor Intelligence.  And, it all happened as the faculty planned their Program’s Annual Advisory Board Meeting this past Spring. 

Advisory Board Members as Coaches – Tapping Into the AI

The HTMS faculty came up with a plan to connect students directly to Advisory Board members, starting before the students even make the decision to attend Stockton. To do this, they positioned the A.B. members as coaches, and asked them to develop a Playbook for the students.  A Playbook is a fluid document.  Plays can be added or deleted at any time. The A.B. members now had the opportunity to alter their Advisory Intelligence to meet new, ever-evolving environments. In addition, the faculty could solicit new advice whenever situations changed. 

The Annual Meeting – Coaches Write Plays

One of the faculty members had just created a Playbook for another use, and the faculty agreed to let him lead the Playbook-writing section of the Annual Meeting.  To make it easier for the A.B. members, the faculty leader asked them to write Plays for three segments of the students' school/professional lives. The three Categories were:

Writing Plays For 'Still In School: Grow Your Value.'

With the time allotted at the Annual Meeting, the faculty decided to limit the Play writing to just the first situation – when the students are still in school. Once again, the A.B. members jumped right in, and came up with some outstanding Play titles, along with some specific instructions for the students. In keeping with the theme, the A.B. members were limited to just Six Words for the Play’s Title. Some of the plays are listed below:

Plays and Photos – Tangible Connections Between Students and A.B. Members

While this is just the beginning of the process, it is a major step toward connecting our students to the Advisory Board. The first step is to add the Plays to our website, along with photos and names of the A.B. members (coaches) who contributed them. Imagine the power of sharing these images/words with prospective students and their parents? 

Playbooks Utilize AI (Advisor Intelligence)

How does someone access and use Artificial Intelligence? They create a prompt and then ask the AI to come up with answers. How can students access Advisor Intelligence? They use their situation as the prompt, and then read through the advice (AI answers) that the Coaches give them. For example, if a student is still in school, they can find Plays that tell them how to “grow their value.” Soon, they’ll be able to access situational AI for Growing and Bestowing their Value.

Conclusion

In summary, the faculty at Stockton University in the Hospitality, Tourism and Event management program have redesigned an advisory board to extract a wider range of benefits, from offering specialized expertise and strategic insights (plays) to enhancing students learning experiences and program reputation. Positioning Advisory Board members as coaches and mentors recognizes their intelligence and extracts their diverse knowledge, skills, and experience from various fields within the hospitality industry in the form of playbooks for students.  Additionally, with greater engagement by Advisory Board members beyond the once-a-year meeting, students gain direct access to the extensive networks of contacts and connections of Advisory Board members within their respective industry areas, and this can open doors to partnerships, collaborations, and other beneficial opportunities for the program and students.