IDP Record Processing Update In 2007, NCARB received a surge of new applicants. While we are excited to have more Record holders starting this process earlier in their careers, this growth also resulted in a backlog on Records processing. Timelines for Record evaluations and transmittals suffered and we were unable to meet our customer service goals.
To improve our performance, a number of initiatives were put in place to reduce the backlog and enhance our service offerings. The most significant change was the launch of an online application to start an NCARB Record. This changed the processing time for new applications from a four to six week window into an immediate Record set up and notification. We have also re-engineered many of our internal operations to streamline our processes.
The most recent change is an upgrade to our system to provide automated notification e-mails to customers after we evaluate and verify submitted experience forms, references, and transcripts. Please note that it is currently taking us up to 30 calendar days to evaluate and verify experience and reference forms and up to five calendar days to process transcripts from the date of receipt.
NCARB has decided to stop the distribution of formal wall certificates noting IDP completion. As we reinvent our processes, we are looking for ways to maximize our output, eliminate unnecessary extra steps, and reduce our carbon footprint. We stopped this process with some hesitation, as it was a formal notice of your completion of a rigorous and valuable internship. As we move forward, we will be looking to correspond more by e-mail to reduce paper use, improve processing times, and support more modern communication standards.
Many of our processes still need to be improved and our overall service times need to be reduced. We greatly appreciate your patience as we find the mechanisms to meet these needs. We must balance thorough work product with quality customer service. We are confident that you will continue to experience positive changes throughout this year. We also encourage you to be very familiar with the Handbook for Interns and Architects and the IDP Guidelines as these publications contain important information that will help you chart your career path toward licensure and keep your internship on track. These publications can be downloaded from our web site at http://www.ncarb.org/publications/freepubs.html
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