On April 1, the National Architectural Accrediting Board Procedures for Accreditation, 2009 Edition will go into effect. These procedures will apply to all accreditation actions undertaken after that date, including focused evaluations scheduled for 2009. Click here to download the PDF.
The significant differences between the 2009 edition and the 2008 edition can be summarized as follows:
• General Reorganization. The document has been reorganized. Each type of visit or accreditation action is a single section with all the information for each type of visit or action now in one place in the document.
o Section 3: Continuing Accreditation
o Section 4: Candidacy for Accreditation
o Section 5: Initial Accreditation
o Section 6: Focused Evaluations
o Section 7: Nomenclature Change Requests
o Section 8: Special Circumstances
• Architecture Program Reports (and other documents). Page and file size limits have been set for all applications, APRs, and other documents required as part of the accreditation process.
• Procedures for Candidacy for Accreditation (Section 4). In late 2007 and throughout 2008, the NAAB Directors raised concerns that programs may need greater assistance and counsel before formally establishing candidacy so as to avoid seeking initial accreditation prematurely. A program that seeks initial accreditation too early, after enrolling students, may put students at risk of graduating without an accredited degree. Therefore, the Board has approved a new first step, in which institutions that do not already have an accredited degree program must first seek eligibility for candidacy. (See Section 4.2). The purpose of eligibility is to ensure that institutions understand the process more fully, they have a plan for achieving initial accreditation that is capable of being implemented, and that students and the institution understand the expectations and risks of the process.
• Extension of Term (Section 8). The procedure by which institutions may request an extension of term for an accredited degree program has been more fully described.
• Annual Reports (Section 10). The 2009 Procedures now reflect the implementation of the new Annual Report Submission System.
• Appendix 1: Templates for team reports have been added to the document.
Two final and important points: first, if your program is scheduled for an accreditation visit or focused evaluation between April 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010, the NAAB urges you to read the new edition carefully. Second, this edition is still the companion document to the 2004 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation. In 2010, a new edition of the procedures will be released that implements the 2009 Conditions for Accreditation.
If you have questions, please contact the NAAB at info@naab.org.