Over the past decade, NCARB has worked under the guidance of the state licensing boards to refresh programs along every step of the path to licensure, from education to registration. Chief among these was the update and alignment of two key programs: the Architectural Experience Program™ (AXP™) and the Architect Registration Examination®(ARE®), which culminated in the launch of ARE 5.0 on November 1, 2016.

The latest data from the 2017 edition of NCARB by the Numbers indicates some of these program changes have led to a reduction in the timeline to licensure, while still maintaining the rigorous requirements needed to protect the public. In addition, newly licensed architects are increasingly overlapping the AXP and ARE. As a result, the time it takes to earn a license has steadily dropped over the past eight years, with the average architect becoming licensed in 12.5 years—nearly 10 months sooner than 2015, and 3.1 years sooner than the peak in 2008.

NCARB's fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30.

Begun in 2015, IPAL gives students the opportunity to jumpstart their career in architecture
by working toward their experience and examination requirements for licensure. IPAL
options incorporate the AXP and ARE into the curricula of an existing NAAB-accredited architecture program.

We anticipate this effort will further streamline and shorten the timeline to licensure in the
near future, as students begin to graduate from schools in the inaugural IPAL cohort.

*Programs must be accredited or a candidate for accreditation by the NAAB before implementing
an IPAL option.

Approximately 2,400 candidates completed their experience requirement after the AXP launched, bringing 2016’s total AXP completions to an all-time high of 8,153.

The AXP Portfolio is part of an ongoing initiative by NCARB's Member Boards to offer advancement opportunities to licensure candidates and architects following alternative career paths. The portfolio, which requires applicants to provide work examples that satisfy each of the AXP’s 96 tasks, confirms that candidates achieve the necessary level of competency, while also ensuring that the profession continues to move in an inclusive direction. Candidates must also meet their licensing board’s education and examination requirements.

The hard work didn’t end with November 1—after ARE 5.0’s launch, NCARB collaborated with a volunteer pool of practicing architects to set the cut (or passing) score for each division. This score was established using the results of test administrations for each division, ensuring that test results are fair and accurate. To encourage candidates to test, NCARB offered $100 gift cards
and free retakes to early testers, which helped soothe hesitations about adjusting to a new
exam format.

Members Chad Laroche, Morgan Parrish, and Zachary Stoltenberg presented on the Think Tank’s findings at NCARB’s 2017 Annual Business Meeting, sharing training tools that could be used to help strengthen mentorship between supervisors and candidates. Their ideas will help shape the work of FY18 NCARB committees as they focus on the supervisor-candidate relationship. “Stronger relationships [between candidates and supervisors] build better professionals,” Stoltenberg told Member Boards. “Better professionals are more equipped to serve and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.”