On February 22, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) approved the first reading of the 2014 Conditions for Accreditation. The document is now ready for the public comment.
You can download a clean copy of the first reading edition here.
You can download a redline copy of the first reading here.
You can download a combined PDF containing both documents here.
Comments are to be sent to forum@naab.org.
The deadline for comments is June 24, 2014.
Differences between the August 2013 draft and the February 2014, “First Reading Edition,” of the 2014 Conditions for Accreditation
The 2014 NAAB Conditions for Accreditation – First Reading represents the NAAB’s effort to evaluate and synthesize the comments received August 29-November 30, 2013. In doing so, the Board has made a number of revisions and modifications. They are highlighted here:
- The continued absence of instructions and implied advice. This material continues to be refined out of the document and is being captured in an advisory document that will be released with the final, approved edition of the 2014 Conditions.
- The NAAB has revised and reordered the new perspectives.
- The first reading has refined the conditions on curriculum development and program self-assessment.
- The NAAB is proposing to reinstate two Student Performance Criteria (SPC) initially eliminated:
- Ordering Systems
- Building Materials and Assemblies.
- The NAAB has reordered Realms C and D and introduced a second SPC in Realm C. The new SPC is intended to describe the process-related skills that support the decision-making reflected in C.1.
- The NAAB continues to refine the Condition on Professional Degrees and Curriculum (II.2.2). These revisions are intended to accomplish several things:
- Include preprofessional or preparatory education completed at institutions other than those offering an accredited degree. In particular, this revision is intended to include community college education.
- Revise the table of credit distribution between general studies, professional studies, and optional studies to leave more discretion to the program in terms of how many professional studies credits are included in the curriculum.
The condition on international accreditation has been retained. The NAAB is working with the leaders of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture to discuss this condition further during the ACSA Annual Meeting in April.
The NAAB continues to work on the new format for the Architecture Program Report (APR), as well as new a format for the Visiting Team Report. The guidelines for preparing APRs will be released with the final, approved edition.
Following a review and discussion of the comments received, the NAAB will make the final decision on the document in July 2014.