Sunsetting of Member Board Liaisons from the Intern Development Program

Washington DC—NCARB established the IDP Member Board Liaison position in 1983. The position’s original purpose was to have a Member Board Member designated as an information resource regarding state registration requirements, IDP training criteria, and procedures for documenting IDP training. Member Board Liaisons also assisted program coordinators with presentations to architectural students and interns.

During the past 23 years, several factors have served to minimize Member Board Liaisons’ responsibilities. Most significantly, the advent of web-based information now provides instantaneous access to current IDP requirements and procedures. Interns can immediately refer specific questions to NCARB and Member Boards via e-mail. A recent survey conducted by the IDP Coordinating Committee found that few interns utilized Member Board Liaisons as an information resource.

In recent years, NCARB has funded Member Board Liaisons to attend the annual IDP Coordinators Conference in order to receive updated program information, and to interact with IDP State Coordinators and Educator Coordinators. After reviewing feedback from Liaisons who attended the February 2006 Conference, along with the aforementioned survey results, the Finance/Management Committee and the IDP Committee concluded that the human and financial resources could be better utilized and proposed that the position be eliminated.

The Committee’s recommendation was approved by the Board of Directors at their June meeting. It is the Council’s intent to continue to strengthen communications with interns, as well as improve IDP and the quality of registration information provided by NCARB and its Member Boards.

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