Upon receiving a written complaint about a program with reference to the latest edition of the NAAB Conditions, the NAAB notifies the program, keeping the complainant’s identity confidential, and requests a response from the program. The complaint and response are presented for review and possible action at the next Board meeting.

10.2.1   Programs may request reconsideration of Board action regarding terms of accreditation or of Board decisions to deny or withdraw accreditation.

Programs may not request a hearing to reconsider Board action regarding the acceptance of APRs or Annual Reports.

10.2.2   In a reconsideration, a ruling to uphold the Board decision is to be based on whether either of the following applies:

a)   The NAAB decision is supported by sufficient factual evidence cited in the record.

b)   The NAAB and/or visiting team complied substantially with established accreditation procedures and any departure from such procedure did not significantly affect the decision.

10.2.3   Failure of the program to provide information to the NAAB and/or the visiting team in a timely manner cannot provide a basis for requesting reconsideration of a decision.

10.2.4   Reconsideration is conducted by the NAAB Directors.

a)   The filing of a request for a reconsideration automatically delays implementation of the Board’s accreditation decision.

b)   Correspondence concerning a reconsideration shall be exchanged by certified mail, return receipt requested. All days refer to regular business days, exclusive of weekends and national holidays. Appendix K provides a schedule for implementing a reconsideration.

10.2.5   The institution shall bear the expenses directly associated with any hearing, such as those for meeting rooms and for the travel, meals, and lodging of its representatives. The institution shall bear the expense of having witnesses appear at its request, and the NAAB shall do the same.

10.2.6   To initiate a reconsideration, the chief academic officer of the institution must, within 14 calendar days of receiving the NAAB’s accreditation decision, send a request for reconsideration to the NAAB President. The request must identify the incorrect or insufficient factual information cited by the NAAB in support of the decision and/or evidence that the visiting team’s failure to comply with established accreditation procedures significantly affected the accreditation decision.

10.2.7   The request for reconsideration sets the following in motion:

a)   The NAAB President assigns a Board member as Board designee to oversee the reconsideration until its conclusion at the next possible meeting of the NAAB. Other than having participated in the Boards’ accreditation decision, the Board designee shall have had no prior involvement with the program.

b)   The Board designee provides the visiting team chair the program’s request for reconsideration and obtains from the visiting team chair a written response to the assertions of incorrect or insufficient evidence and/or failures of the visiting team to comply with established procedures.

c)   The Board designee, using the VTR, the program’s response to the VTR, the program’s request for reconsideration, and the visiting team chair’s response, shall prepare a written analysis of the issues to be submitted to the program and the visiting team chair.

d)   Upon receiving the Board designee’s analysis, the chief academic officer of the institution may request either a reconsideration on the record as analyzed by the Board designee or a reconsideration hearing at the next possible NAAB meeting.

e)   If the program requests reconsideration on the record, the NAAB Directors consider the VTR, the program’s response to the VTR, the program’s request for reconsideration, the visiting team chair’s response, and the Board designee’s analysis in a session chaired by the Board designee from which the visiting team chair is excused.

f)   If the program requests a reconsideration hearing, at least 10 calendar days before the next NAAB meeting, the chief academic officer and the Board designee may make a written request to the NAAB Executive Director naming persons required at the hearing. The Executive Director shall invite these persons, but cannot ensure their attendance.

g)   During the NAAB meeting, a reconsideration hearing is to be convened with the Board designee serving as chair. In attendance shall be the NAAB Directors, the NAAB Executive Director, representatives of the institution as determined by the institution, and the visiting team chair.

h)   The Board designee opens the hearing by introducing the participants and explaining the procedure to be followed.

i)   Representative(s) of the institution, who may include legal counsel, first present their position, confining it to issues of either incorrect or insufficient factual information and/or evidence that the visiting team’s failure to comply with accreditation procedures affected the accreditation decision. Within the same limits, the visiting team chair and the President of NAAB may present other positions.

j)   The Board designee may question any attendee and, solely at the designee’s discretion, may direct questions from Board members to the institution and vice versa.

k)   The institution’s representative(s) make a closing statement, which concludes the reconsideration hearing, after which the institution’s representatives and the visiting team chair are excused.

l)   In a session chaired by the Board designee, the NAAB Directors review the evidence and render a decision along with the reasons supporting it, all of which the Board designee records.

m)   In the event the decision is to grant reconsideration, the Board shall meet to reconsider the accreditation decision. It shall base the accreditation decision on information available to the visiting team with respect only to those matters that served as the basis for the grant of reconsideration. The Board may take the steps deemed necessary to review material available to the visiting team but not contained in the APR or VTR.

n)   Within 7 calendar days after the meeting of the NAAB where the term of accreditation was reconsidered, the NAAB President shall send the institution the decision and reasons supporting it as recorded by the Board designee.

Following reconsideration, a Board decision may be appealed only when the

decision is for denial or withdrawal of accreditation.

 

By entering an appeal process, the institution agrees to accept the ruling of the

appeal panel as final.

 

10.3.1   In an appeal, a ruling to uphold the Board decision is to be based on whether either of the following applies:

a)   The NAAB decision is supported by sufficient factual evidence cited in the record.

b)   The NAAB and/or visiting team complied substantially with established accreditation procedures and any departure from such procedure did not significantly affect the decision.

10.3.2   Failure of the program to provide information to the NAAB and/or the visiting team in a timely manner cannot provide a basis for requesting the appeal of a decision.

10.3.3   An appeal is conducted by persons selected to represent the collateral organizations and the public.

a)   The filing of a request for an appeal automatically delays implementation of the Board’s accreditation decision.

b)   Correspondence concerning an appeal shall be exchanged by certified mail, return receipt requested. All days refer to regular business days, exclusive of weekends and national holidays. Appendix J provides a schedule for implementing an appeal.

10.3.4   The institution shall bear the expenses directly associated with the hearing, such as those for meeting rooms and for the travel, meals, and lodging of its representatives and the appeal panel. The institution shall bear the expense of having witnesses appear at its request, and the NAAB shall do the same.

10.3.5   To initiate an appeal hearing, the chief academic officer must send a written request to the NAAB President within 21 calendar days after receiving official notice of the reconsideration decision. The request must include a specific response to the reconsideration decision.

10.3.6   The request sets the following in motion:

a)   Each collateral organization is informed of the appeal hearing and asked to submit to the NAAB President a list of persons who can represent the collateral organization and those who can represent the public; who are willing to serve on an appeal panel; and who have never been involved with either the Institution or the accreditation action under appeal.

b)   The NAAB President draws from these lists to propose an appeal panel composed of five persons, one each representing the ACSA, AIA, AIAS, NCARB, and the public.

c)   Within 14 calendar days of receiving a request for an appeal hearing, the NAAB Executive Director forwards the proposed membership of the panel to the chief academic officer and proposes a date and place for convening the panel.

d)   Within 7 calendar days of receiving the list, the chief academic officer either notifies the NAAB President that the panel is acceptable or challenges no more than two proposed members. In the latter case, the NAAB President will appoint replacements, after which the membership of the appeal panel is final.

e)   The NAAB President selects a member of the approved panel to serve as the appeal panel chair.

f)   The appeal panel receives and reviews the program’s APR, VTR, the program’s response to the VTR, information reviewed during the reconsideration hearing, and the institution’s response to the reconsideration decision.

g)   The appeal panel chair reviews the evidence and any policies, correspondence, and documents applicable to the appeal hearing with the Executive Director. The appeal panel chair and the chief academic officer of the institution then determine a time and place for the hearing.

h)   The appeal panel chair convenes an appeal hearing. In attendance are the appeal panel, the NAAB President and Board designee, the visiting team chair, the NAAB Executive Director, and representatives of the institution as determined by the institution.

i)   The appeal panel chair opens the hearing by introducing the participants and explaining the procedure to be followed.

j)   A representative or representatives of the institution, who may include legal counsel, first present their position, confining it to issues of incorrect or insufficient factual information cited by the NAAB in support of the decision and/or evidence that failure of the visiting team to comply with established accreditation procedures significantly affected the accreditation decision.

k)   The appeal panel chair may question any attendee.

l)   The appeal panel chair calls a recess so the panel may consider whether to receive or request additional written material before its deliberations.

m)   The institution’s representative or representatives make a closing statement, which concludes the appeal hearing, after which the institution’s representatives are excused.

n)   In an executive session, which may occur by telephone conference, the appeal panel rules on whether the accreditation decision is upheld.

o)   If the accreditation decision is upheld, the following occur:

1)   The appeal panel chair prepares a statement to be signed by the members of the appeal panel, stating the accreditation decision is upheld, and delivers it to the NAAB office within 7 calendar days of the appeal hearing.

2)   Within 7 calendar days of its receipt, the NAAB President forwards the statement to the chief academic officer of the institution.

p)   If the accreditation decision is not upheld, the following occur:

1)   The appeal panel identifies the factual evidence found to be incorrect or insufficient to support the NAAB decision and/or those lapses in compliance with established accreditation procedures that significantly affected the accreditation decision.

2)   The appeal panel chair prepares a report containing the appeal panel decision and the reasons supporting it and delivers it to the NAAB office within 7 calendar days of the appeal hearing.

3)   Within 7 calendar days of its receipt, the NAAB President forwards the report to the chief academic officer of the institution.

4)   The NAAB immediately takes steps to correct the items specified in the appeal panel report and to have the NAAB make a new accreditation decision in light of the corrections. This new accreditation decision is subject to reconsideration and appeal, as if it were an original accreditation decision.

q)   In either event, the ruling of the appeal panel is final.