November, 2018
Partner Spotlight: AIAS Remarks from Collateral Meeting
Introducing the NAAB’s Partner Spotlight: Each month the NAAB will feature a column focused on the news from our colleagues at the collaterals. We are excited to kick off our new feature with a spotlight on the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS). At the October meeting of the collateral leadership, AIAS President Amy Rosen and Vice-President Brigid Callaghan presented an update on the organization’s focus for 2018–2019. We encourage you to read their inspiring remarks here .
2017 Report on Architecture Education at Minority-Serving Institutions Published
The NAAB’s annual report on enrollment, gender and ethnicity, degrees awarded, and faculty at MSIs is now available. Highlights include a 15% increase in enrollment in NAAB-accredited programs over the 2016 total and a slight increase in the percentage of female students enrolled (from 41% of the total in 2016 to 44% in 2017). First-time enrollment in accredited programs increased dramatically, from 437 students in 2016 to 671 students in 2017. See the full report on the Publications page on the NAAB website.
ARForum19 Update
Preparations for ARForum19 are progressing at a rapid pace. This month’s update focuses on the progress of the forum’s Steering Committee.

The committee comprises representatives from all five collateral organizations; it meets regularly via video conference and gathered in person for the second time in mid-October. The first meeting (late May) focused on the future of architecture education, while this session delved into the future of accreditation. To inspire this conversation, leaders from other accrediting bodies offered their perspectives on how accreditation can influence change in a profession:

  • Jane H. Aiken, LL.M., Professor of Law at Georgetown University, representing the American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Laura Rasar King, MPH, MCHES, Executive Director of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
  • Dr. Andrew T. Phillips, Academic Dean and Provost, United States Naval Academy, representing the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)

The three panelists provided an overview of how each organization transformed its accreditation process and shared insights from their experience of “disruption” within their own professions. Throughout the rest of the meeting, Steering Committee members reflected on those perceptions and discussed their implications as well as ideas that might be carried forward within the committee’s charge.

Committee members also reviewed the work to date on the Vision/Big Ideas portfolio and determined which of these should be moved forward to the next stage. They reviewed the Perspectives section of the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation and discussed the four realms of the Student Performance Criteria. The committee developed three potential approaches for further study with the goal of eventually deciding on one that will be used to define the Student Performance Criteria within the context of the 2020 Conditions.

As the steering committee continues its focus on specific areas of the Conditions for Accreditation , members will refine the SPC, realms, perspectives, and big ideas. This will coalesce in the March 2019 in-person meeting, which will focus on the future of the architecture profession and will ultimately form the foundation for the forum next July. 

More updates on the progress of the task force and collaterals will be included in future newsletter articles.  
NAAB Strategic Plan
At the October meeting of the Board of Directors, the NAAB approved an update to its strategic plan. The board felt it was important to revisit and refresh the plan, given the substantial transformation the organization is undergoing. You can read the updated plan here .
2018 Annual Report Reminder
The NAAB released the 2018 Annual Statistical Report to programs on September 5, 2018, for completion by November 30. If you are responsible for the report and have not received any emails about it, please check your spam folders, and then email annualreport@naab.org . 

Special Announcement Recap
Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, announced in October that she would step down as the NAAB’s interim executive director in 2019. You can read the press release here .