Accreditation

Architecture programs offered by universities in Australia and New Zealand are subject to a review process to inform accreditation of architecture qualifications.

The long running review of the architecture accreditation procedure has been completed and the Australian and New Zealand Architecture Program Accreditation Procedure (ANZ APAP) is operational.

ANZ APAP is published and jointly owned by the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) and the Institute; it sets out the steps to be followed for professional accreditation of architecture programs in Australia and New Zealand. The new procedure includes some significant changes:

• Inclusion of New Zealand as part of the architecture program accreditation system.


• To reinforce the concept of “one panel”, the recognition component of the procedure, previously used for the Australian Institute of Architects’ recognition for membership, has been removed from the accreditation procedure (as of 2012 all accredited programs will be automatically recognised by the Institute). This new arrangement will provide more clarity in the assessment of architecture programs, in terms of what needs to be assessed against the National Competency Standards in Architecture (NCSA) and help to identify areas (such as academic leadership, resources) currently not covered by the NCSA. The evaluation of the program is guided by the Institute’s Tertiary Education of Architects and Research Policies.


• Elimination of Provisional Recognition Assessment from the accreditation procedure.


• Introduction of the Benchmark Academic Pathway (BAP) which aims to provide more flexibility to universities to develop their own programs and meet a range of market needs.


• Establishment of the ANZ APAP Steering Committee to oversee the operation of the new procedure.


• Reduction of Interim Review Panel (IRP) visits (formerly known as State Visiting Panel (SVP) visits).


• The procedure and pro forma have been redesigned and streamlined.