Washington, DC—Every eight years, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) reviews and updates its Standards for Accreditation (previously referred to as "Conditions" and "Procedures"). The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) is one of the founders of the NAAB and represents the interests of our licensing boards relative to accredited architectural education.
In response to the NAAB's request for public input on revisions to the 2020 Conditions for Accreditation, NCARB developed a position statement intended to clearly outline recommended updates, which was adopted by the NCARB Board of Directors in June 2026. The position statement was informed by multi-year discussions with NCARB's Education Committee; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; and Leadership Roundtable. It highlights opportunities for the NAAB to better focus accredited education on preparing students for entry to practice in alignment with licensure competencies, while also advancing greater fairness, transparency, and access within the accreditation process.
At this critical juncture for higher education and licensure, the Council foresees an opportunity for the next NAAB Standards to allow accredited degrees to contribute more directly toward the development of competencies for licensure under the forthcoming Pathways to Practice licensure model.
NCARB’s comments are grounded in its mission to facilitate architect licensure processes that protect public health, safety, and welfare. As such, NCARB emphasizes that accreditation standards for professional degrees must remain closely aligned with the competencies required for entry into architectural practice. The recommendations below are intended to strengthen that alignment while improving transparency and educational effectiveness.
Reaffirming the Purpose of the Professional Degree
NCARB strongly recommends that NAAB explicitly state in the introduction that “the first purpose of an accredited professional degree in architecture is to prepare students for the practice of architecture.”
This clarification addresses a growing concern among regulators and practitioners that some programs have drifted from practice preparation. Research conducted over the past decade, including NCARB studies and external analyses, supports the conclusion that many graduates are insufficiently prepared for the realities of professional practice. Establishing this principle will reinforce a shared understanding across institutions and stakeholders.
Strengthening the Connection Between Design and the Built Environment
NCARB supports revising the paragraph on Design to emphasize design thinking must be applied to real, constructed environments.
Architectural education must prepare students to create solutions that are buildable, habitable, and responsive to real-world conditions across urban, suburban, and rural contexts. This change addresses the broader concern that some educational experiences overly prioritize abstract or speculative work at the expense of practical application.
Ensuring Essential Professional Skills
NCARB recommends the addition of a program criterion requiring programs to demonstrate that graduates have achieved key competencies aligned with the NCARB Competency Standard—particularly those related to health, safety, welfare, regulatory compliance, and professional responsibility.
“Competencies for Licensure. How the program assures and documents that every graduate has fully acquired NCARB Competencies 3, 4, 5, and 15 as described in the NCARB Competency Standard for Architects, edition current at the time of accreditation.”
The value of architectural education will be significantly enhanced if Student Criteria 1, Health, Safety, and Welfare in the Built Environment, and Student Criteria 3, Regulatory Context, are required to be developed and assessed at the Apply level instead of the current Understand level.
Clarifying Career Pathways and Licensure Awareness
NCARB recommends revising the criteria on career paths to require that students understand licensure pathways beginning in their first year and to emphasize opportunities that utilize the profession’s skills and knowledge.
By introducing this information early, programs can improve student persistence, promote informed decision-making, and strengthen alignment with professional goals. Importantly, this revision also corrects an unintended bias in the current language that may overemphasize career paths outside the profession.
Advancing Fairness Through Objective Design Assessment
NCARB strongly advocates the addition of a program criterion requiring objective, transparent, and rubric-based assessment of design work.
“Objective Assessment of Design. How the program assures objective, transparent, and rubric-based assessment of design courses relative to grading and where applicable competency acquisition.”
Evidence has consistently identified bias and inconsistency in studio evaluation as barriers to fairness and access. While subjective critique is valuable for formative learning, summative evaluation must be grounded in clearly defined criteria.
Emphasizing Representation and Graphic Literacy
NCARB recommends adding a new program criterion addressing representation and graphic literacy, recognizing that visual communication is foundational to architectural practice.
“Representation and Graphic Literacy. How the program assures students possess representational skills (e.g., drawing, modeling, illustrating) and graphic literacy relevant to the current practice of Architecture.”
This addition addresses a notable gap in the current Conditions and reinforces competencies essential for professional success.
Expanding Access and Supporting Alternative Pathways
NCARB encourages NAAB to consider broader opportunities to strengthen the educational pipeline, including accreditation options for community college architecture programs, improved transfer pathways into professional degrees, and exploration of competency-based accreditation models.
These initiatives would expand access, reduce barriers, and support a more diverse and inclusive profession.
Strengthening Faculty Connections to Practice
NCARB recommends the addition of a new requirement in section 5.4 to ensure that students have meaningful engagement with licensed architects actively connected to practice.
“5.4.5 Licensed Faculty: The program must, a) Demonstrate that faculty hold relevant professional experience; and b) that students in the program have substantive contact with architects currently licensed to practice in all courses associated with Student Criteria 1 – 6; and, c) demonstrate that for courses associated with meeting Student Criteria 5, Design Synthesis, students have had at least one course taught by faculty currently licensed to practice architecture.”
This recommendation ensures that students benefit from instruction grounded in current professional realities.
Improving Transparency and Public Accountability
NCARB recommends revising public reporting requirements to better reflect the quality and structure of program outcomes tied to entry to practice. Specifically, require disclosure of faculty qualifications and licensure status, and require transparency in transfer credit evaluation processes.
These changes will provide more meaningful information to prospective students and support equitable access to accredited programs. In addition, NCARB recommends removing the requirement to report ARE pass rates as they are not a reliable indicator of academic performance.
Transitioning to Outcome-Based Accreditation
NCARB strongly urges NAAB to eliminate prescriptive credit-hour requirements, including the 150-credit requirement for the Bachelor of Architecture.
Credit hours are an outdated and imprecise measure of learning that increase the cost of education, limit innovation in curriculum design, and create unnecessary barriers to the profession. NCARB supports a continued shift toward outcomes-based accreditation, in which programs demonstrate achievement of competencies rather than compliance with time-based metrics.
Conclusion
NCARB’s recommendations seek to ensure that accreditation standards remain firmly grounded in the realities of architectural practice. By centering practice preparation, strengthening competency-based outcomes, improving fairness in assessment, and enhancing transparency, NAAB can reinforce the value of the accredited degree and better serve students, the profession, and the public.
NCARB remains committed to continued collaboration with NAAB and other stakeholders to advance an effective pathway from education to licensure.
