by Jaclyn S. Toole, Assoc. AIA
2007 NAC Chair

Currently enrolled in IDP? Is IDP in your future? Are you procrastinating sending in your training unit reports? Waiting to send them in all at once? Has your professional growth led to an alternative career? Decided to forego your training record submissions because you wanted to start a family? Then be aware: All of the training you have undergone in the past, beyond the last six months, may no longer be eligible to count towards your IDP requirements.

As written, this new requirement would affect all new IDP record holders who enroll after July 1, 2009

To ensure that an intern is progressing through the Intern Development Program (IDP) and completing all required training activities in a timely fashion, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has put forth Draft Resolution 07-I, Proposed Six-Month Requirement for Documenting IDP Training Activity. It would require all new IDP record holders to submit training unit reports at a maximum of once every six months. Similarly to the “five-year rolling clock,” any training units acquired but not reported prior to the six-month period will begin to “roll off” and no longer be deemed valid to count toward IDP requirements. As written, this new requirement would affect all new IDP record holders who enroll after July 1, 2009.

What is the purpose of IDP?
As stated in the 2006-2007 IDP Guidelines published by NCARB, the purpose of IDP is: “To acquire and reinforce the discipline, integrity, judgment, skills, knowledge, and quest for learning that must serve the registered architect for a lifetime.” Currently, the obligation to complete a valid and effective IDP is left solely to the intern. Before implementing a requirement that will restrict interns, IDP needs to be evaluated holistically.

IDP comprises four main roles: the intern, the supervisor, the mentor, and the system administrator.

• The intern, an IDP record holder with the goal of licensure, is responsible for maintaining a record of training and supplementary education activities throughout IDP.
• The mentor, a registered architect, is responsible for periodically meeting with an intern to review their training progress, discussing career objectives, providing guidance to enhance the interns’ professional growth, and conferring with the intern’s supervisor.
• The supervisor, a registered architect within the organization the intern works, is responsible for providing daily supervision and opportunities for interns to gain experience in each IDP training area, reviewing the quality of the interns’ work, certifying documentation of training activity, and conferring with the interns’ mentor.
• The system administrator is responsible for providing and implementing a program geared toward professional development and, in a timely fashion, maintaining and validating training records submitted by interns on the path to licensure.

Through education, public relations, training, and the creation of electronic online tools, each role can be held accountable for the individual’s responsibilities. With collaborative efforts among the AIA, NCARB, AIAS, SDA, NAAB, and ACSA, implementation of these recommendations would ensure the program is executed to its fullest potential, help interns, expand the profession, and achieve the ultimate goal of IDP: attaining licensure.

It’s everyone’s concern
Some have asked, “Why do you care so much? This rule won’t affect you.” Quite to the contrary, this change will affect me, and it will affect you as well. With the trends as they stand currently—a yearly loss of 3 to 4 percent of architects to either retirement or death compared to 1 to 2 percent of newly licensed architects entering the profession annually—establishing and maintaining an effective system to complete licensure is of the utmost importance to sustaining the profession’s future.

If your “IDP-ological” clock was ticking today, how would it affect you and your individual IDP experience?

Join the discussion: intern, supervisor, mentor, or system administrator. If your “IDP-ological” clock was ticking today, how would it affect you and your individual IDP experience? Supervisors and mentors, if this rule were in place today, how would the interns that you influence be affected? http://blog.aia.org/nac/