NCARB and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) recently co-launched the Professional Practice Education Library, otherwise known as ProPEL. Professional practice courses provide architecture students with an understanding of business principles within the practice of architecture, as well as the need to act legally, ethically, and critically to protect the public. ProPEL is a growing library of educational video resources covering foundational and emerging topics in architectural practice.

Building upon the organizations’ 2018 and 2019 research surveying graduate preparedness for practice, ProPEL is the next step in the NCARB/ACSA partnership to support educators and improve student preparedness. With those survey results in mind, NCARB and ACSA have coordinated an editorial board composed of educators from the University of Washington, Yale University, Boston Architectural College, the University of Oregon, and Lawrence Technological University to develop digital curricula for professional practice educators to better equip students for the future of architectural practice. These short-format videos, featuring topics presented by experts, can be used as part of a class lecture or for a “flipped classroom” approach in which students can watch the lecture in advance and then discuss during scheduled class time.

During ProPEL’s introductory launch, all content will be free for public access. Available multi-lesson course units include "Value Proposition and Fees" by Phil Bernstein (Yale University) and Renée Cheng (University of Washington); and "Firm Finance, Operating Model, and Management" by Brian Kenet (Anchin, Block & Anchin). In addition to exploring videos on topics like contracts and lean construction and design, members can create personalized course channels, integrate hosted videos seamlessly into existing lesson plans, and utilize the site’s video capture app to share with the ProPEL community.

The ProPEL joint initiative from NCARB and ACSA is part of a suite of training tools the Council offers for professional practice educators, including conferences and webinars for educator licensing advisors and the NCARB Scholars in Professional Practice event—a training program focused on addressing current and future needs of academia and developing strong academic leaders.

Sign up to stay up-to-date on the latest developments and course offerings from ProPEL.