There has been a dramatic change in the format of the conditions and procedures beginning with the 2004 Conditions and the 2005 Procedures. They are now two documents, meant to be used together by the programs, but separate so that future changes happen by a clear and regular process. The Conditions are intended to stay as they are until after an Accreditation Review Conference (formerly called a “Validation Conference”), which would happen every 5 years, and the Procedures may change annually. The office will notify programs of any changes to the Procedures each year in late February.
There are many instances of rewording, changes to punctuation and moving about of sections; the list below is only a summary of changes and/or additions.
Changes to the Conditions:
1. Programs are asked to use the Table of Contents in the Conditions as the outline format for writing their Architecture Program Reports (APRs).
2. What was formerly called a “strategic plan” is now referred to as “self-assessment document.”
3. The section on Program Self-Assessment has been rewritten to emphasize the necessity for each program to write a description of its self-assessment process.
4. The Student Performance Criteria are presented as part of the 2004 Conditions. Evidence is required that faculty and students have been informed of how to access them on the NAAB Web site.
5. There is a new condition: Studio Culture. Programs are required to have a written policy on studio culture and include it in their APR.
6. The requirement for a minimum number of volumes in the library is once again 5,000 but the titles may bear whatever call numbers best support the program’s unique needs.
7. The home institution for the program must be accredited by one of the regional accrediting agencies (they are listed in the Conditions) rather than a “recognized” accrediting agency.
8. The section on Professional Degrees and Curriculum has been completely rewritten. There are minimum credit requirements for each of the three degree titles accredited by the NAAB: Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture, and Doctor of Architecture. Schools have until 1 January 2015 to conform to the new minimum credit requirements. Also, the requirement that course distribution be 60 percent professional studies and 40 percent general studies has been replaced with a requirement that each degree must include a minimum of 45 credits of coursework with no architectural content.
9. The Student Performance Criteria have been reorganized and rewritten so that there are now 34 rather than 37. One of the levels of achievement, “awareness,” has been abandoned so that all criteria must be met at the level of either “understanding” or “ability.” Many of the criteria have been reworded to eliminate redundancy, to strengthen intentions, and to clarify meanings. There are two new criteria—Sustainable Design and Client Role in Architecture—and several have had significant additions of content. The phrase “appropriate application and performance” has been added to four criteria and “trends that affect practice, such as globalization, outsourcing, project delivery, expanding practice settings, diversity, and others” has been added to Professional Practice. “Issues of growth, development, and aesthetics in their communities” has been added to Leadership. Also, the content of some of the technical criteria that were eliminated has been added to criteria that were retained.