HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FISCAL YEAR 2013 (JULY 2012 – JUNE 2013)
NCARB 2013 Annual Report
WHO WE ARE
More than 90 employees, both architects and non-architects, work in our headquarters in Washington, DC. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, ranging from architects to executives from the jurisdictional boards to educators, we provide programs and services to architects seeking reciprocal registration across the United States, emerging professionals working toward their first license, and the U.S. registration boards granting licensure.
NCARB'S PRESIDENT CELEBRATES COUNCIL'S PROGRESS:
2012-2013 NCARB President
Ronald B. Blitch
NCARB looks back on the past year’s accomplishments. “This truly is a time to reflect on how far we've come, and how we have worked together to make our Council stronger,” Blitch says in his report.
A MESSAGE FROM THE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER:
Michael J. Armstrong
CEO Mike Armstrong shares an overview of the Council’s work in FY13. NCARB is leading the way with several new initiatives that have set the evolution of architecture licensure in motion.
READ LETTER
Introduction to the
NCARB 2013 Annual Report
About this Report
On behalf of the Council, we are especially pleased to share this newly redesigned, digital Annual Report, so that you can join us in taking measure of our progress and performance during fiscal year 2013 and in looking toward the opportunities that lie ahead in fiscal year 2014 and beyond.
Within the NCARB 2013 Annual Report, you will find:
● Who We Are – an inside look at the people, values, and structure of our organization
● Year in Review – results and highlights of our progress toward meeting the Council’s strategic goals
of facilitating licensure, fostering collaboration, and centralizing credential data
● Volunteer Reports – reports from the officers of our Board of Directors, the chairperson of each
committee/subcommittee, and the chairperson of each Region.
● Business Operations – resolutions, agreements, Bylaws, and financial statements.
In reviewing our results, we hope you will agree that NCARB has seized the opportunity to build upon the foundation of a change management culture established during the past several years. Leading the way is a series of new initiatives that will set the necessary evolution of architecture licensure in motion.
A Culture of Continuous Improvement
Our staff teams have embraced "continuous improvement" as a part of our everyday work at NCARB. We see this in many ways—from our Records team accelerating the ability to respond to requests, to our Information Services team creatively using state of the art project management techniques to solve problems, to our Administration team cross-training on financial and office management tools to be more efficient with fewer staff.
And for the benefit of our customers, we have embarked upon course-correcting selected fee schedules, underscoring our strategic goal to facilitate access to licensure.
Renewed Engagement
As our staff works at continuous improvement, we are also working to earn the trust of our Member Boards, our
customers, and the profession at large. This means a renewed effort to connect, and to listen, outside the walls of our
office in Washington, D.C.
● We are more effectively reaching a population that is increasingly reliant on social media platforms like
Twitter and Facebook to get information.
● Visits to Member Boards by the CEO, staff, and various Board members continue. To date, we have met with 31 boards
and nearly every visit to a jurisdiction has included time with AIA state component executives, seeking a chance
to restart relationships and open doors for new collaboration.
● In fiscal year 2013, NCARB reached nearly 5,000 people through outreach visits to 42 schools, 22 AIA components,
and 20 conferences.
● Nearly 42,000 inbound calls and 38,000 inbound e-mails were handled by customer service during fiscal 2013.
Evolution of the "Three E’s"
Through the work of our practitioner volunteers, bolstered by data and industry expertise, we have been building the foundation for reimagining and reconfiguring the path to licensure. We have made important progress on several initiatives relating to the “Three E’s” along the licensure path of education, experience, and examination.
Data sets from the 2012 NCARB Practice Analysis of Architecture, undergoing their first review and assessment by our architect volunteers during this past year, are being used to inform this critical work.
EDUCATION
● NCARB's Contribution to the NAAB 2013 Accreditation Review Conference informed discussions related to the vital
role accredited architectural education plays in the path to licensure.
EXPERIENCE
● A cross-functional, internal special project team was deployed in early 2013 and is charged with conceptualizing
short-and longer-term revisions to the Intern Development Program (IDP), with approaches to be unveiled in
Spring 2014.
● The Council launched the first-ever Intern Think Tank, bringing the voice of emerging professionals to the table to help
inform future directions for the IDP.
EXAMINATION
● The Board of Directors approved the development of ARE 5.0, the next version of the Architect Registration
Examination® (ARE®). The new path forward is a dramatic reshaping of the exam that will take effect in late 2016.
● The final phase of more than two years of work was completed for the fiscal year 2014 launch of My Examination,
a dynamic service within My NCARB for ARE candidates.
Anticipating the Future
A commitment to improvement—and a consistent focus on engagement—naturally leads to anticipating the future.
Through our updated Strategic Plan, we are now correctly positioned to anticipate how NCARB can best function in the future. Our three goals tell the story: facilitating licensure, fostering collaboration, and centralizing data. This focus is
critically important.
The profession is evolving. Member Board roles, emerging technology, new trends on campuses, and the collaborative
nature of design teams all call for an NCARB that can also evolve. Our commitment at a revitalized and refreshed NCARB is to remain transparent, self-critical, and dedicated to facilitating licensure as an ongoing protection to the public’s health, safety, and welfare.
Celebration of Our Partnerships
Our tremendous progress over the last year would not have been possible without the expertise and support of the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who devoted countless hours toward fulfilling committee charges designed to advance and serve the needs of the profession. We honor and give special thanks to each and every one of you.
We thank our Member Board Members and Executives for the privilege of providing services that support your ability to fulfill your Boards’ regulatory responsibilities to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. You continue to support a culture and design a framework that allows each of us to improve, engage, and anticipate.
Thank you as well to our customers—for entrusting us with your professional records, and for continually inspiring us to find more and better ways to support your path to licensure and career goals.
Finally, we celebrate the partnerships that we enjoy with our collateral organizations. Over the course of the last year, we have convened, debated, and collaborated in order to collectively move the profession forward on many fronts. We look forward to continuing this important work.
The Year Ahead
In closing, as we reflect upon fiscal year 2013, we have much to celebrate—and much to anticipate in the year ahead. With the guidance of our Board of Directors, the expertise that our volunteers bring to their committee charges, and the strength of our collateral partnerships, we will continue striving to anticipate and serve the needs of our Member Boards, our customers, and the profession.
Ronald B. Blitch, FAIA, FACHA Michael J. ArmstrongChief Executive Officer
2012-2013 NCARB President
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WHAT’S
NEXT
Check out what’s in store for FY14 and beyond.
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About NCARB
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards' membership is made up of the architectural registration boards of all 50 states as well as those of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NCARB assists its member registration boards in carrying out their duties and provides a certification program for individual architects. NCARB protects the public health, safety, and welfare by leading the regulation of the practice of architecture through the development and application of standards for licensure and credentialing of architects. In order to achieve these goals, the Council develops and recommends standards to be required of an applicant for architectural registration; develops and recommends standards regulating the practice of architecture; provides to Member Boards a process for certifying the qualifications of an architect for registration; and represents the interests of Member Boards before public and private agencies. NCARB has established reciprocal registration for architects in the United States and Canada.
Facilitate Licensure
Officers
Foster Collaboration
Committees
Centralize Credential Data
Regional
© National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
1801 K Street NW Suite 700K
Washington, DC, 20006
Second Vice President Dale McKinney
First Vice President Blakely C. Dunn
Past President Scott C. Veazey
