NAAB to Provide Quarterly Updates of 2024−2026 Strategic Plan | | |
Going into 2024, NAAB launched the 2024−2026 Strategic Plan, articulating our commitment to continue advancing the organization’s goals and objectives.
The plan is broken into four primary goal areas:
- Excellence in Accreditation
- Organizational Vibrancy
- International Outreach
- Voice of Architectural Accreditation
As we approach the midpoint of the plan’s three-year span, we are pleased to begin a quarterly update series, highlighting the progress in each area. For the coming quarter we are focusing on the Voice of Architectural Accreditation goal.
Voice of Architectural Accreditation Goal Overview
In summary, the Strategic Plan states that per the Voice of Architectural Accreditation Goal “Key audiences will have an increased understanding of the value, relevance, and importance of an accredited degree in architecture.”
The objectives for this goal are:
-
Strategic Communications - Promote the value of NAAB accreditation through a streamlined communication strategy, including multiple channels of communication with diverse organizations and stakeholders.
-
Organizational Reputation - Promote NAAB’s reputation for advancing educational quality assurance standards and processes that anticipate the needs of academic programs, the profession, and society, to promote a better built environment.
Progress to Date
NAAB is pleased to report significant progress across this goal with particular momentum leveraging numerous channels and touchpoints to foster interactive communications to collectively manage evolving and anticipated needs of our stakeholders. Stay tuned for examples of these accomplishments.
| | |
Now Available:
2024 Annual Report and MSI Report
| | |
The 2024 Annual Report on Architectural Accreditation and 2024 Report on Architectural Accreditation at Minority-Serving Institutions are now available on the Publications page of NAAB's website.
The reports include new data on program characteristics, enrollment, student outcomes, faculty, and the visiting team pool.
| | |
Recap and Invitation: Dialogue with NAAB:
Changing Higher Education Policy Landscape
| | |
On June 10, 2025, NAAB hosted a webinar led by members of the Higher Education Practice Team at Husch Blackwell. The session, presented by Julie Miceli and Anne D. Cartwright, provided valuable insights into the new administration’s priorities and their implications on higher education and accreditation.
Topics included nondiscrimination, freedom of expression, accreditation, Federal Student Aid, state and federal regulatory changes, and proposed federal budget updates addressing student loan limits and campus funding.
Key Takeaways:
-
Protections for Students: The current administration’s executive orders and policy changes create hurdles for institutions seeking to serve underserved students by threatening loss of federal funding for institutions that have DEI programs or use race or DEI factors in admissions, scholarships, and campus life.
-
Quality Assessment of Programs: The administration wants changes to the accreditation landscape and agencies standards, emphasizing career-readiness and measurable student outcomes over DEI initiatives. The administration is calling for accreditors to focus on academic quality, student performance, and transparency, while eliminating standards perceived as “discriminatory” or not directly tied to educational outcomes.
-
Impact on Accreditor’s Criteria: Executive actions are pressuring accreditors to revise their criteria, removing requirements that support DEI.
Summary: Overall, the administration’s actions are reshaping federal expectations for student protections, program quality, and accreditation criteria—prioritizing deregulation, measurable outcomes, and the elimination of DEI-based standards. Institutions and accreditors will need to adapt quickly to remain in compliance.
Continuing Conversation
NAAB invites you to take part in three upcoming interactive input sessions where programs are encouraged to share their perspectives with peers and NAAB leadership on navigating new policies related to higher education and accreditation.
Interactive input session options:
Please mark your calendars and register for the program input sessions most convenient for you. We look forward to your participation and thank you for your continued engagement!
| | Join Your Peers in NAAB’s Online Communities! | | |
In case you missed it, program directors, program faculty and staff, visiting team members, and visiting team chairs now have access to online communities on NAAB’s website! Each community provides its members with opportunities to share resources and tools, brainstorm a problem, ask for advice, and discuss issues tailored to the needs and perspectives of the membership. If you are a director of a NAAB-accredited or candidate program, a member of the faculty or staff of an accredited or candidate program, or a member of NAAB’s pool of volunteer site visitors and you have not received an invitation, please reach out to us at accreditation@naab.org.
If you have received an invitation and have not yet participated in a discussion, please join your colleagues and help create a special resource for programs and evaluators.
| | If you are a representative of an accredited program who is responsible for your program’s Annual Report, register now for a live training session, offered twice this summer, on the 2025 Annual Report form and submission: | | | | |
Completing Your Program’s Annual Report
| | |
NAAB’s Annual Report template will be released on August 1, 2025. Required for all programs with initial or continuing accreditation, the Annual Report ensures up-to-date records and ongoing compliance with the Conditions for Accreditation. This year, programs will have the opportunity to continue their reporting through a newly enhanced Accreditation Management System (AMS), designed with a more user-friendly experience in mind.
Programs granted initial accreditation or continuing accreditation by NAAB are required to submit an Annual Report by December 15 of every year, including the year in which the Architecture program Report (APR) is due. Stay tuned for more information!
| | |
How to Conduct a Successful On-Campus Site Visit
Join NAAB at the ACSA Administrators Conference (Nov. 6-8) for a workshop on the essentials for preparing for a successful accreditation visit under the NAAB 2020 Conditions and Procedures.
This practical, hands-on session will feature presentations, exercises and Q&A time with NAAB’s Director of Accreditation, Rebecca Lippert and Manager of Accreditation, Robin Hemenway.
Workshop highlights will include:
- Key strategies for demonstrating compliance with NAAB Conditions
- Tips on selecting, annotating, and displaying student work
- Guidance on identifying other evidence
- Best practices in assessment
Questions? Contact us at accreditation@naab.org.
| | | | |
NAAB’s Notice of Actions detailing accreditation decisions made at the April 2025 board meeting is now available.
Read more on the accreditation Notice of Actions page.
| | Become a NAAB Site Visitor or ARC Evaluator! | | | | |
Site Visitors
NAAB site visitors are a vital part of the accreditation process, serving as the eyes and ears of NAAB’s Board of Directors and contributing their time, expertise, and passion for excellence in architectural education.
| | | | |
Accreditation Review Committee (ARC)
NAAB’s ARC is a dedicated group of experienced site visitors tasked with reviewing essential accreditation maintenance documents, including the Annual Report, Special Report, and Plan to Correct. ARC applications will close on July 31, 2025.
| | |
For programs preparing their APR for submission, remember to include the remote location questionnaire and a narrative description of each location with your APR.
Download the remote location questionnaire from the Forms and Templates page on NAAB’s website.
| | | | During Spring 2025, NAAB conducted 20 in-person site visits to evaluate 28 programs, supported by the dedication of nearly 100 volunteer educators, practitioners, regulators, and students. | | |
We’re deeply grateful to these volunteers for their time, insight, and commitment — and to the 20 host institutions whose faculty, staff, and students extended such generous hospitality throughout the process.
Your participation and partnership continue to elevate the quality and integrity of architectural education.
| | Mark Your Calendars: Accreditation "Office Hours" | | | | |
Join us for accreditation "Office Hours", offered twice monthly!
Office Hours is an open forum to discuss challenges, ask questions, and share experiences about accreditation with the NAAB accreditation staff and your colleagues.
| |
-
12−1pm ET on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.
-
4−5pm ET on the 4th Thursday of each month.
| Pre-register to attend upcoming sessions on the accreditation Workshops and Program Trainings page of our website. Once registered, you’ll receive an email confirmation with the Zoom link. | | | | |
