An Overview of the Accreditation Process and Important Policies Megan Scanlan, Director of Accreditation, Stacy Wright, Site Visit and Meeting Coordinator,

“The future of the interior design profession depends on how well the next generation of designers is prepared to meet the ever changing challenges of our environment. Quality interior design education sets the foundation for students to enter the profession prepared to meet these challenges.” - John A. Lijewski, FIIDA CIDA Board of Directors

Purpose of Accreditation Accreditation is a quality assurance process Promotes achievement of high academic standards Discipline-specific accreditation process includes program self-evaluation and peer review

Role of Volunteers Peer evaluation is the cornerstone of accreditation All CIDA evaluators and decision-makers are volunteers CIDA staff administers the process, volunteers are experts in the field of interior design

Peer Review Site Visitors - on-site evaluators - review other team’s findings Accreditation Commission -makes final decisions on accreditation

Initiating the Process CIDA accreditation is voluntary Programs contact CIDA to begin the process CIDA staff provide information and support CIDA website provides information and resources for programs and site visitors

Candidacy Status Candidacy is a pre-accreditation status available to new programs/programs in development Granted for a non-renewable term that cannot exceed 5 years Process for seeking candidacy modeled after accreditation process Attainment of candidacy status does not guarantee program will eventually be accredited

Candidacy and Accreditation: What’s the difference? In order to be eligible to seek accreditation, a program must graduate 2 classes In order to be eligible to seek candidacy status, a program must be in operation for 2 full academic years

Candidacy and Accreditation: What’s the difference? A program seeking candidacy status does not need to be in compliance/partial compliance with all Standards A program seeking accreditation must be in compliance/partial compliance with all Standards

Applying for Accreditation Programs must demonstrate eligibility - Institutional accreditation/recognition - Minimum of bachelor’s degree - 30 semester credit hours liberal arts & sciences - Graduation of 2 classes Assessment of readiness Application status confidential

Self-Study CIDA encourages programs to regularly engage in effective self-study/analysis Programs must conduct a self-study process in preparation for a CIDA review CIDA provides Guidance for Self-study

Program Analysis Report Program Analysis Report (PAR) communicates results of program’s self-study Includes institutional and program data and background information Analysis provided for each Standard addresses strengths and weaknesses and program compliance Includes the Curriculum Matrix

Program Analysis Report Due 8 weeks prior to site visit Program submits a copy to CIDA office and each member of visiting team Hard copy and electronic copy submitted

The Site Visit Preparation Visiting teams formed 1 year in advance Team members begin communicating approximately 8 weeks in advance (sometimes earlier depending on the team chair or co- chair) Travel arrangements made 6 weeks in advance Materials received from CIDA office 1 month in advance Site visit schedule organized 1 month in advance

The Site Visit Site visitors arrive in the host city on Friday, site visit begins Saturday morning Visiting team reviews student work, interviews faculty and students, observes classes, tours facilities Visiting team works on Visiting Team Report (VTR) and prepares for interviews during evening work sessions

After the Site Visit Visiting Team Report (VTR) due in the CIDA office 1 week after the site visit CIDA staff and two Accreditation Commissioners review and edit VTR Visiting team receives an edited version of the report and a memo with questions about report content

After the Site Visit VTR is sent to the program for review and response Program can address technical errors, content concerns, and plans for improvement related to weaknesses cited in VTR Visiting team asked to respond to content concerns

After the Site Visit All Visiting Team Reports and any program responses are sent to groups of trained site visitors for review Site visitors asked to provide input on the application of Standards within these reports Site visitor feedback is sent to the Accreditation Commission

Accreditation Decision Accreditation Commission meets in spring and summer In order to make decisions, Commissioners review all of the materials collected throughout the accreditation process (PAR, VTR, program response, site visitor comments, etc.) CIDA’s list of accredited programs updated after each meeting

Monitoring All programs monitored to ensure they remain in compliance with Standards throughout the term of accreditation Progress Report Interim visit

Reaccreditation Program revisited at the end of each 6 year term to maintain accreditation A fresh look at the program Accredited programs do not submit an application