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Accreditation and validation agencies from Australia, Canada, China, Korea, Mexico, the United States, and the Commonwealth Association of Architects announce the ratification of an Accord declaring substantial equivalency of professional degrees in architecture covered by their accreditation/validation systems. The Accord was signed by representatives of these systems in Canberra, Australia on 9 April 2008.. The Canberra Accord establishes that as of 1 January 2010 academic qualifications in architecture accredited/validated by The Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), the Canadian Architectural Certification Board/Conseil canadien de certification en architecture (CACB/CCCA), the National Board of Architectural Accreditation (NBAA) of China, the Korea Architectural Accrediting Board (KAAB), the Consejo Mexicano de Acreditación de Enseñanza de la Arquitectura (COMAEA), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) of the USA, and the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) will be considered substantially equivalent by those agencies. Degrees, or qualifications, awarded prior to 1 January 2010 are not included in this agreement. Quoting from the Accord:
"Having exchanged information on, and examined their respective criteria and procedures for accrediting/validating academic qualifications in architecture, the signatories have concluded that their systems are substantially equivalent. Through the Canberra Accord…….the signatories recognize the substantial equivalence of their systems in terms of accrediting/validating the academic requirements for the practice of architecture at the professional level. "This being the case, academic qualifications in architecture accredited/validated by one of the signatories should be accepted as having substantial equivalency and recommended for recognition by all signatories, subject to additional requirements imposed by local regulations. "It is anticipated that the Accord will facilitate international mobility of graduates in architecture and contribute to improving the quality of architectural education through benchmarking. "The Accord is a transparent (peer review) system for determining substantial equivalence of architecture degree program/mes. It is considered to be reflective of the core principles of the UNESCO-UIA Charter for Architectural Education (Revised Version 2005) and the relevant sections of the UIA Accord on Recommended International Standards on Professionalism in Architectural Practice (Revised Version 2005).“ ‘Substantial equivalency’ is defined as follows:
"The term ‘substantial equivalency’ identifies a program/me as comparable in educational outcomes in all significant aspects, and indicates that it provides an educational experience meeting acceptable standards, even though such a program/me may differ in format or method of delivery. Substantial equivalency is not accreditation or validation.” Further information will be available at http://www.canberraaccord.org
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Canadian Architectural Certification Board/Conseil canadien de certification en architecture (CACB-CCCA) |  |
Consejo Mexicano de Acreditació de Enseñnza de la Arquitectura (COMAEA) |  |
Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) |
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Korea Architectural Accrediting Board (KAAB) |  |
National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) |  |
National Board of Architectural Accreditation (NBAA) |
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The Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) |  |
Union Internationale des Architectes | ||
Signed in April 2008, the Canberra Accord is a document by seven accreditation/validation agencies in architectural education. It is intended to facilitate the portability of educational credentials between the countries whose accreditation/validation agencies signed the Accord. It does not address matters related to professional registration or licensure. This promotional material is designed to provide information to three groups:
Individuals who will have completed their professional architectural education beginning 1 January 2010 in a program
accredited/validated by one of the signatory systems;
Leaders and staff of signatory agencies or organizations;
Leaders and staff of regulatory agencies responsible for professional licensure of registration in architecture.
The Accord came into effect on 1 January 2010.
The following signatories are the founding members of the Canberra Accord:
In May 2006, the National Architectural Accrediting Board, the National Council of Architectural Registration Board, and the American Institute of Architects convened the First International Invitational Accreditation/Validation Roundtable in Washington, DC. Leadership from the architectural accrediting agencies of the US, Australia, Canada, China, Mexico, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), as well as leaders from the International Union of Architects (UIA) attended.
The purpose of the roundtable was to determine whether these agencies had sufficient interest and equivalency between their systems of accreditation/validation to enter into an accord on accreditation/validation in architectural education. The development of this multilateral agreement was inspired by the Washington Accord for engineering degree programs in Australia, New Zealand, UK, Canada and the US. It recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited in the Washington Accord and recommends that graduates of programs accredited by any the signatories be recognized by the other signatories as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering.
Canberra Accord was developed based on Washington Accord for engineering with the same intent. Following the initial discussion in Washington in 2006 and further Roundtable meetings in Canada (2007) and Canberra (2008), on 1 January 2010, the Accord became operational after all founding members agreed that architectural education should have a similar vision to that of engineering as both professions share similar academic and professional entry requirements and the need for professional mobility.
Generally speaking, accreditation is a voluntary quality assurance process under which services and operations are evaluated by a third party against a set of standards set by the third party with input and collaboration from peers within the field. Today, accreditation is distinguished by five components:
It is provided through private agencies;
It requires a significant degree of self-elevation by the institution or program, the results of which are summarized in a report
to the agency;
A team conducts a visit;
Recommendations or judgments about accreditation are made by experts and trained peers; and
Institutions have the opportunity to respond to most steps in the process (The Handbook of Accreditation, Third Edition. North
Central Association of Colleges and School, Higher Learning Commission)
Specialized accreditation/validation/recognition controlled by members of the discipline to be evaluated rather than by a government agency or ministry of education is a relatively new practice outside Australia, UK, Canada and the US. As increasing the portability of professional and academic credentials in all fields becomes a policy with growing importance, it is incumbent upon those in accreditation/validation/recognition agencies across the world and within unique disciplines, like architecture, to lead the way in easing the movement of professionally educated individuals across borders.
The Canberra Accord is a transparent peer review system for determining substantial equivalence of architecture degree programs. It is considered to be reflective of the core principles of the UNESCO/UIA Charter for Architectural Education (Revised Version 2005) and the relevant sections of the UIA Accord on Recommended International Standards on Professionalism in Architectural Practice (Revised Version 2005).
It is important to note that the Canberra Accord has specifically developed a set of rules and procedures based on best practice model with contribution from six accreditation/validation/recognition bodies and it is aligned with the UNESCO/UIA Charter for Architectural Education (revised version 2005) and the International Network for Qualify Assurance Agencies in Higher Education’s Guidelines of Good Practice (Lewis R. INQAAHE. Guidelines of Good Practice by international Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education, revised edition 2006. See www.inqaahe.org.). To ensure signatory systems are meeting Canberra Accord standards, each system is required to undertake a review every six years. The Signatory System followed by confirmation of signatory countries (excluding the system being reviewed).
Substantial equivalency identifies a program as comparable in educational outcomes in all significant aspects, and indicates that it provides an educational experience meeting acceptable standards, even though such program may differ in format or method of delivery. It not accreditation.
The Canberra Accord focuses exclusively on benchmarking the substantial equivalency of established accreditation systems and qualifications of the schools they directly accredit/validate/recognize. While it does not address matters related to professional registration or licensure, signatories are expected to engage with the bodies responsible for the practice of architecture in their respective jurisdictions, and to promote the recognition of the systems and qualifications covered by the Accord. The Accord does not affect additional requirements imposed by local regulation and accepts that individual jurisdictions will retain control over requirements for registration/licensure.
