Education Committee

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Education Committee oversees the development, delivery, and assessment of the Council’s education policies for use by Member Boards and oversees the Council’s relationship with the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

Highlights/Year-End Summary:

The Education Committee report also includes input from the Continuing Education Subcommittee (CESC) and the Broadly Experienced Architect (BEA) Committee. Committee highlights for the FY16 year include taking a fresh look at the NCARB Award, considering offering continuing education credit for supervisor training, and making modifications to the EESA Evaluators Handbook.

Summary of Charges

• The Education Committee assessed the potential evolution of the NCARB Award based on research of other award programs and the current needs of academia. Based on this assessment, the committee compiled a list of recommendations to advance the program, which will be considered, developed, and presented to the Board of Directors for discussion in FY17.
• Along with the Procedures and Documents (P&D) Committee, CESC, and the Internship Committee (IC), the Education Committee decided that a review of HSW qualification for supervisor training be conducted after the coursework is fully developed.
• The committee reviewed and approved the additions to the EESA Evaluators Handbook related to substantial equivalencies and credit allocations for five schools.

Broadly Experienced Architect Committee

Committee Members

Committee Purpose:

The BEA Committee reviews dossiers and interviews eligible applicants for the Broadly Experienced Architect (BEA) and Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect (BEFA) programs to determine if they meet NCARB’s standards for certification. The committee also evaluates the two programs for degree of rigor, fairness, and non-bureaucratic procedures.

Highlights/Year-End Summary:

• Reviewed 20 BEA applicants and approved 12 for certification.
• Reviewed 22 BEFA applicants and approved 16, who were invited for an interview.
• Conducted the first ever virtual interviews for the BEFA Program; three applicants were interviewed and all three were  approved for certification.
• There were no new BEFA applications accepted in FY16 in order to complete the sunset of the program by June 30, 2016.

Continuing Education Subcommittee

Committee Members

Examination Committee

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Examination Committee oversees the development, delivery, and assessment of the Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) for use by Member Boards.

Highlights/Year-end summary

The Examination Committee spent FY16 focusing on efforts related to the launch of ARE 5.0, as well as the continued development and delivery of ARE 4.0. The committee oversaw the work of five subcommittees and task forces, including: Vignette Grading Subcommittee, ARE 4.0 Item Development Subcommittee, ARE 5.0 Item Development Subcommittee, ARE 5.0 Case Study Task Force, and ARE 5.0 Forms Assembly Task Force. In addition, the Examination Committee studied current examination policies’ impacts; established final ARE 5.0 scoring rules; determined the test duration and appointment times for all ARE 5.0 divisions; and established the ARE 5.0 cut score procedures to be used in FY17.

Summary of Charges

• The Examination Committee participated in brainstorming exercises for ways to increase benefits for NCARB Certificate holders.

• The committee reviewed and modified the five-year ARE Master Plan, outlining the required committees, efforts, and milestones necessary to retire ARE 4.0 while also developing, launching, and maintaining ARE 5.0.
• The committee monitored the adoption of new building codes and AIA documents across the 54 Member Boards and established an implementation timeline to update all examination questions.
• The Examination Committee researched the emerging technologies of virtual reality and virtual augmentation and their use in architecture and high-stakes testing.
• The committee reviewed the policies and procedures to be included in the ARE 5.0 Guidelines and provided direction on the development of other candidate resources.

ARE 4.0 Vignette Grading Subcommittee

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Vignette Grading Subcommittee is responsible for reviewing the computer-based grading criteria for vignettes. The subcommittee audits the scoring engine and statistical performance of each vignette script using random-sampling of candidate solutions throughout the year.

Summary of Charges

• Participated in brainstorming exercises for ways to increase benefits for NCARB
  Certificate holders.

• Reviewed computer-assigned scores for each vignette and monitored the adjudication criteria necessary to clarify scoring results; confirmed vignette scoring continues to work effectively.
• Reviewed vignettes’ statistical performance and removed from the operational pool those vignettes that were no longer performing at a satisfactory level.

ARE 4.0 Item Development Subcommittee

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The ARE 4.0 Item Development Subcommittee is responsible for writing and editing the non-vignette questions used in six divisions of ARE 4.0. The subcommittee is also responsible for quality control of the forms assembled to be delivered to candidates during the next fiscal year.

Summary of Charges

• Participated in brainstorming exercises for ways to increase benefits for NCARB
  Certificate holders.
• Reviewed the statistical performance of pretest questions and under-performing operational questions; provided appropriate direction to correct or retire questions as appropriate.
• Reviewed the assembly of FY17 exam forms to ensure replacement of any questions that substantially cue or overlap with other questions within the same form.

ARE 5.0 Item Development Subcommittee

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The ARE 5.0 Item Development Subcommittee is responsible for writing and editing new questions to be used in ARE 5.0.

Summary of Charges

• Participated in brainstorming exercises for ways to increase benefits for NCARB
  Certificate holders.
• Using the case study scenarios and resource documents created by the ARE 5.0 Case Study Task Force, the subcommittee authored, edited, and reviewed the questions to be used with case studies in the launch of ARE 5.0.
• Authored and edited new independent questions, including new hot spot and drag-and-place question types, to be used in each division of ARE 5.0.

ARE 5.0 Case Study Task Force

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The ARE 5.0 Case Study Task Force was responsible for developing case study scenarios and resource documents to be used by the ARE 5.0 Item Development Subcommittee for the development of case study questions in each division of ARE 5.0.

Summary of Charges

• Participated in brainstorming exercises for ways to increase benefits for NCARB
  Certificate holders.
• Developed two case study scenarios and the accompanying resource documents for each division of ARE 5.0.
• Outlined potential assessment objectives within the ARE 5.0 Test Specification, as well as question writing ideas related to the case study scenarios authored.

ARE 5.0 Forms Assembly Task Force

Committee Members

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Internship Committee (IC) oversees the development, delivery, and assessment of the Intern Development Program (IDP) for use by Member Boards, including suggesting improvements to the IDP’s training components and recommending revisions to the IDP Guidelines.

The Internship Advisory Committee (IAC) includes representatives from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), and the Society for Design Administrators (SDA). Together, they evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Council’s experience-related policies in order to advise the development and implementation of the IDP.

Note: On June 29, 2016, the Intern Development Program was renamed the Architectural Experience Program® (AXP®). In FY17, these committees will be known as the Experience Committee and Experience Advisory Committee respectively.

Highlights/Year-End Summary:

• The Internship Committee focused on updating the title of the experience program and the potential for supporting IDP supervisors by allowing supervisors to earn HSW hours for training.

• The Internship Advisory Committee provided feedback on the work of the Internship Committee. In addition, they developed suggestions for supervisor resources and subjects for NCARB monographs focused toward licensure candidates.

Summary of Charges

• The IC recommended necessary resolutions and policy changes based on the conclusions
  reached while completing FY16 charges.

• The IC reviewed potential new names for the updated IDP and recommended their suggestions to the NCARB Board of Directors.
• The IC and IAC discussed the idea of supervisors receiving HSW CEHs for training and made recommendations pertaining to the HSW requirement.
• The IAC brainstormed topics for future mini-monographs relevant to licensure candidates
  that could qualify for IDP/AXP experience hours.

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Member Board Executive (MBE) Committee considers issues of concern to the jurisdictions and MBEs and nominates an MBE director to serve on the Council Board of Directors.

Highlights/Year-End Summary

The FY16 MBE Committee was tasked with completing six charges. The first charge, which was shared with all FY16 committees, was to brainstorm ways to increase benefits for NCARB Certificate holders.
The remaining five charges consisted of planning and facilitating the MBE Workshop, conducting the annual Quality Assurance Audit (QAA) of NCARB Records, providing feedback to NCARB relative to system tools for use by the MBE community, providing feedback and support to increase Member Board participation in the data sharing program, and identifying content relative to Member Boards to include on Member Board dashboards.

Summary of Charges

• The MBE Committee and the Public Member Task Force jointly completed an exercise to extract ideas for increasing the benefits of the NCARB Certificate.
• The committee facilitated the 2016 MBE Workshop held in Savannah, GA, in early March. The workshop included state reports on successes, hot topics, and key legislation; roundtable discussions on current issues; virtual introduction of NCARB staff and educational videos related to services provided; and the election of Kingsley Glasgow, executive director for the Arkansas Board of Architect, Landscape Architects & Interior Designers, to serve his third term as the FY17 MBE director on the NCARB Board of Directors.
• The MBE Committee completed the QAA of Council Records. A total of 100 records, composed of 44 Certificate Records and 56 Intern Records, were audited. No major errors were identified, and one minor error was reported. A minor error is defined as a discrepancy in a Record that would not affect licensure or certification. The committee suggested that the FY17 MBE Committee undertake a comprehensive review of the QAA and recommend updates to the process that would more accurately reflect best practices due to advances in systems and technology.
• The committee provided feedback to representatives from the NCARB Information Systems and Examination directorates at its October meeting. In April, the committee provided feedback on a new Record transmittal package for candidates completing the AXP through the portfolio option.
• Through feedback regarding participation in the data sharing program, committee members identified feeling more comfortable providing information to NCARB when the individual’s date of birth and Social Security number are not included. Additionally, some members volunteered to reach out to neighboring jurisdictions to encourage the sharing of data with NCARB.
• The committee identified key statistics, indicators, and reports that could be generated based on shared data and included on Member Board dashboards.

Committee Members

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Procedures and Documents (P&D) Committee reviews proposed resolutions, procedures, and documents for their impact on and consistency with Council policies and programs and makes recommendations on such matters to the Board of Directors. The P&D Committee assesses the usefulness of special Council publications and modifies them as appropriate. The committee also
reviews regulatory and rule changes at the jurisdictional level to determine the impact on NCARB
policies, programs, and licensure.

Highlights/Year-End Summary

The P&D Committee was tasked with nine charges this year, including a common charge shared with all NCARB committees to identify ways to increase benefits for NCARB Certificate holders, and a charge to review all proposed resolutions and assess their impact on existing policies, programs, and licensure.

In assessing the charges assigned, three emerged as key initiatives for Member Boards’ review and consideration: addressing architect emeritus status, defining requirements for military-trained applicants for licensure, and including a requirement for diversity on Member Boards in Model Law. Subcommittees were formed and assigned to research, evaluate, and submit a recommendation for committee discussion based on their findings. The work of the committee resulted in two proposed resolutions and a recommendation to the Board of Directors on potential steps and actions to address diversity on Member Boards.

Summary of Charges

• The committee identified 41 jurisdictions that define or address an architect emeritus status in their regulations. After careful consideration, the P&D Committee concluded that it would be beneficial to add a clause to Model Law addressing architect emeritus status. Utilizing the commonalities that exist in the laws and rules that have already been implemented, the committee drafted a resolution identifying optimal language for architect emeritus status in the NCARB Legislative Guidelines and Model Law/Model Regulations that could be used for implementation by the remaining boards (Resolution 2016-06).
• Motivated by the national initiative to support returning military service men and women seeking to enter the workforce, the committee proposed a resolution recommending new provisions to the NCARB Legislative Guidelines and Model Law/Model Regulations to incorporate registration requirements for military personnel. The committee reviewed research material on how military licensure is addressed in the laws and rules of all Member Boards and identified key components of the laws and rules that have already been implemented. The P&D Committee determined that care must be taken to ensure that individuals coming from the military will meet the education, experience, and examination requirements for licensure. The committee crafted a resolution proposing the addition of a new section in Model Law to allow boards to accept education, training, or service completed by an individual as a member of any branch of the military toward the qualifications to receive their license (Resolution 2016-07). It also proposed new sections in the Model Regulations to allow applicants to substitute other experience for the registration requirements insofar as the board considers it to be equivalent to the jurisdiction’s requirements.
• After reviewing research regarding jurisdictional diversity requirements in Member Board statutes as well as jurisdictional requirements for diversity for all licensing boards, the committee recommended that inclusion of a diversity requirement in Model Law was not the appropriate way to promote diversity on Member Boards. The P&D Committee acknowledged that the existing policy on diversity developed by the Board of Directors was sufficient and should not be changed. The committee recommended that the Council should identify ways to develop a guide advocating and promoting diversity on Member Boards, which might include engaging with state AIA components to determine best practices for promoting diverse appointments to the boards. The committee also recommended that the Council facilitate a workshop at a Regional or Annual Business Meeting where Member Board Members and Executives could share best practices for promoting diversity in their jurisdictions.
• The committee, in partnership with the Integrated Path Evaluation Committee (IPEC), developed model language for implementation of the Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure program (Resolution 2016-05).
• The committee reviewed all resolutions for conformity with Council policies and programs. The committee also provided feedback on housekeeping resolutions regarding the use of the term “intern” (Resolutions 2016-08 and 2016-09).
• In collaboration with the Internship Committee, the P&D Committee participated in a discussion about granting HSW continuing education credit for supervisors.
• The committee also completed an exercise to identify ways to increase benefits for NCARB Certificate holders.

Committee Members

Committee Purpose

The Regional Leadership Committee considers issues of concern to the regions and assists with planning the Council’s membership meetings.

Highlights/Year-End Summary

During FY16, the Regional Leadership Committee explored ideas for increasing the benefits of the NCARB Certificate, recommended locations and topics for membership meetings, and provided feedback on NCARB’s data sharing program.

Summary of Charges

• The committee completed an exercise designed to extract ideas for increasing benefits for
  NCARB Certificate holders.
• The committee identified several locations for Regional and Annual Business Meetings
  through 2019.
• The committee created an agenda and facilitated the Regional Summit held March 11- 12, 2016, in Savannah, GA. The Regional Summit included regional caucuses and plenary sessions addressing NCARB’s 2016 resolutions, the impact of the North Carolina Dental Board decision, minimizing illegal and negligent practice through partnering with code officials, and NCARB updates.
• The committee recommended topics, content, and speakers for Annual Business
  Meeting workshops.
• The committee provided feedback to staff on ways to increase Member Board participation in the data sharing program. The committee identified topics and data that would be valuable to the work of Member Boards and suggested the development of charts promoting the value of the program for use in outreach to individual boards. The committee also provided feedback on data sharing contracts to be distributed to Member Boards and recommended the development of three levels of contracts (simple, moderate, and legal), giving the boards options on types of data to share.
• The committee identified content and data that would be beneficial to the work of Member Boards. Content included:

• Licensure statistics such as duration of licensure, number of licenses, movement
  of licensees
• Average time to licensure
• Trends in disciplinary actions

• The committee reviewed the resolution (Resolution 2016-10) submitted by Region 6 regarding the process required for modifying IDP programmatic requirements, which was not passed by Member Boards at the Annual Business Meeting.