As part of our continued commitment to delivering excellence in architectural accreditation, NAAB is pleased to announce its formal pursuit of recognition by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Please see CHEA’s call for public comment here.
Pursuit of CHEA recognition reinforces a key pillar of NAAB’s strategic plan: to address the needs of society, the profession, and educational institutions through an exemplary system of accreditation. We believe that high-quality architectural education depends on a clear, consistent, and continually evolving accreditation process—and that NAAB must hold itself to the same high standards of rigor, integrity, and accountability that we expect of the programs we accredit.
Why CHEA recognition matters:
CHEA is a respected, nonprofit organization that affirms the quality and integrity of higher education accreditors. Their recognition signals that an accrediting agency operates with sound standards, transparent practices, and a genuine commitment to improvement and innovation in education. Pursuing recognition from CHEA is, in many ways, an expression of NAAB’s core values and an opportunity to "accredit the accreditor" by undergoing the same level of scrutiny we apply when we evaluate for quality assurance.
Strengthening NAAB’s services in alignment with accreditation best practices:
In recent years, NAAB has focused on strengthening its accreditation services by looking to CHEA standards and broader field-wide best practices. This includes work to:
- Simplify and clarify required reporting processes
- Ensure site visitors receive robust training and guidance
- Provide clearer expectations and resources for programs
- Improve consistency, transparency, and value across the accreditation lifecycle
- Build a responsive feedback loop for continuous improvement
In a time of accelerated political, societal, and economic shifts affecting higher education, CHEA recognition ensures NAAB’s continued alignment with rigorous, field-wide standards for accreditation excellence.
Going Forward:
NAAB will continue to collaborate across the architectural education and accreditation communities to ensure our approach is informed, inclusive, and focused on supporting programs. We view this next step as a natural evolution of our work—one that keeps architectural accreditation aligned with the highest standards in higher education.
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