At the March 2003 Board meeting, the AIA Board of Directors heard a preliminary reading of Public Policies on Architecture Education. These draft policies were developed with input from the Education Committee of the Board and were submitted for public comment under the review process outlined in the AIA Rules of the Board. Based on the numerous recommendations received at the March Board meeting and during the comment period, the Education Policies were revised. They were approved on First Reading at the May 2003 Board meeting.

The proposed Public Policies on Architecture Education were posted on AIA.org and distributed for comment on Friday, March 28, 2003, to the:
AIA Board of Directors
Component Presidents
Component Presidents-elect
Component Vice-Presidents
Component Secretaries
Component Treasurers
CACE Executives
Educator/Practitioner Net
AIA Licensing Committee
Government Affairs Advisory Committee
IDP Coordinating Committee
National Associates Committee
American Institute of Architecture Students
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
National Architectural Accrediting Board
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
ArchVoices.

Prior to the Board’s second reading, the revised policies will be distributed once again for the second 60-day comment period. Approval of the policies is anticipated at the September 2003 Board meeting.

Education Policies

I. ARCHITECTURAL K–12+ EDUCATION
I.A. Architectural Education in K–12 and Community College Settings
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that the art and science of architecture, when integrated into K-12 core curricula and community college course offerings, enhances the students’ understanding of the built environment, helps them appreciate and understand aesthetic qualities, and encourages them to think creatively and critically about the creation of livable communities.

II. PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTURE DEGREE EDUCATION
II.A Interdependence of Education and Practice
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that practice and education are interdependent elements of the profession that, when integrated, enable students, educators, and practitioners to obtain and maintain the knowledge and skills needed to enter and fully participate in the profession in service to society.

II.B Degree Requirement for Licensure
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes in the requirement of a professional degree from a National Architectural Accrediting Board-accredited program or its equivalent as a prerequisite for professional licensure, as its purpose is to provide students with the fundamental skills, knowledge, and judgment foundational to architectural practice.

II.C Degree Nomenclature
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects supports maintaining multiple paths to the acquisition of a professional degree, which shall include at least a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Architecture.

II.D Studio Culture
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects supports the recommendations of the December 2002 American Institute of Architecture Students Studio Culture Task Force report, The Redesign of Studio Culture, including the belief that architectural design studio is the foundation of professional degree education, such that studio can and should promote the essential values of optimism, respect, collaboration, engagement, and innovation for a more engaged and effective profession.

II.E Diversity
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that all individuals must be provided with equality of opportunity to pursue and advance in architecture careers—regardless of gender, age, race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, physical ability, or national origin—and supports those activities, programs, and processes which foster diversity.

II.F Professional Experience
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that encouraging professional experience in architecture education programs promotes leadership, intellectual depth, and teamwork, and supports and encourages the integration of both internships and studies incorporating practical experience into professional degree programs.

III. ARCHITECTURE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
III.A Mentorship
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes its members should recognize and fulfill their obligation to nurture emerging professionals as they move through all stages of their professional experience, beginning with professional education and continuing throughout internship and licensure.

III.B Practice Culture
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that the culture of practice should promote the essential values of optimism, respect, collaboration, engagement, and innovation through management practices that encourage professional development education and recognition of the knowledge and abilities of employees and collaborators.

III.C Internship and the IDP
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes in a comprehensive internship with measurable qualitative training criteria as a requirement for licensure.

III.D Expanding Professional Experience Settings
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that NCARB’s IDP training settings outlined within the Intern Development Program 2002-2003 IDP Guidelines should be broadened to include many other training settings, in support of the recommendation included in the Collateral Internship Task Force (CITF) Final Report and affirmed by the 2002 National Internship Summit that alternative paths for obtaining professional experience leading to licensure be accepted.

III.E. Licensing Examination
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) should test for public protection competencies gained through a combination of professional degree education and practical experience, and should be made available to candidates at the earliest opportunity in accordance with the licensing requirements of the local jurisdiction.

III.F. Lifelong Learning
Policy Statement. The American Institute of Architects believes that its members must be engaged in lifelong learning and must contribute to the knowledge base in order to continually develop the discipline.

Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page