Update on Accreditation of Architecture Programs
NAAB releases 2009 Conditions for Accreditation

by Catherine Roussel, AIA
Director, AIA Education

Summary: The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) announced the release of the new Conditions for Accreditation of architecture programs following a two-year deliberative process. Approved at their July board of directors meeting, the new Conditions for Accreditation will go into effect on April 1, 2010, and be used by the NAAB to accredit professional degree programs in architecture from 2011 through 2016.

Participants at the October 22-23, 2008, Accreditation Review Conference in Tucson included representatives of the AIA, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the American Institute of Architectural Students (AIAS).

Leaders involved in the accreditation review process recognized that the new conditions would have a significant influence on the future of the profession. The process, which occurs only once every five years, was therefore carefully orchestrated and the outcomes reflect the participation of many individuals and task forces. For its part, the AIA organized numerous forums for discussion, including conferences on sustainability and integrated practice, to inform the AIA White Paper. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the American Institute of Architectural Students (AIAS) contributed papers and an issues brief. Finally, in October 2008, delegations from the collateral organizations came together for the two-day Accreditation Review Conference, followed by the final open comment period March 1-June 1 of this year.

Some substantial changes to the new 2009 Conditions for Accreditation include:

• “Applied Research,” a new student performance criterion, combined with ‘Design Thinking Skills,” which reinforces the importance of evidence-based design
• “Leadership” and “collaboration,” which are essential to integrated practice and integrated project-delivery methods and figure more prominently in the Student Performance Criteria to prepare students for diverse roles in practice
• Regarding sustainability, a new requirement that students have not just an “understanding” of principles of sustainability but the “ability” to design projects that meet sustainability standards; “carbon-neutral design and bioclimatic design” are referenced as is the “use of appropriate performance assessment tools”—unfortunately, no mention of understanding ecological systems, for which the AIA advocated, is included
• The requirement that the architecture program have “a plan in place to maintain or increase diversity of its faculty, staff and students when compared to the diversity of the institution” is an important change. In addition, NAAB recently introduced a system to ensure that statistical reports are more reliable. See 2008 Report on Accreditation in Architecture Education for more information
• Programs must demonstrate that students, prior to the earliest point of eligibility, have the information needed to enroll in the Intern Development Program (IDP); further, an IDP Coordinator must be appointed and trained and have regular communication with students.

Some organizational changes include that:

• The conditions have been divided into two distinct parts: one focusing on institutional support and commitment to continuous improvement and the other dedicated to educational outcomes and curriculum
• The 32 Student Performance Criteria (previously there were 34 SPCs) have been grouped into three realms in which “each realm defines a set of relationships among individual areas of study and also identifies learning aspirations for the realm overall.” (NAAB Press Release, August 1, 2009)

It is also important to note two trends in accreditation identified by the NAAB inter-collateral task group on this topic: performance-based accreditation and evaluation of a program or school’s performance against its own stated mission. NAAB has been and continues to be a leader in these areas.

The accrediting process is intended to verify that each accredited program substantially meets those standards that, as a whole, compose an appropriate education for an architect. NAAB is the only agency recognized by registration boards in the United States to accredit professional degree programs in architecture. To learn more, see the introduction and appendices 6 and 7 of the new 2009 Conditions for Accreditation.