November 3, 2017Interior Architecture Recommended for Reaccreditation
In October, the School of Interior Architecture hosted a team representing the Council for Interior Design Accreditation for an onsite review toward reaccreditation. After the three-day review, the CIDA team is recommending the program for reaccreditation, which is a six-year period. This important milestone leads to a final decision by the CIDA board in April.
The CIDA onsite team noted 16 areas of strength, including these:
Global Context and Cultural Meaning
Creative Solutions, Innovation, and Risk Taking
Visual Communications and Use of a Breadth of Media Types
Creation of Construction Documentation
Understanding and Use of Building Codes
Of the 154 measures used for accreditation, the CIDA team noted four areas for improvement, including industry-specific guidelines and broadening the range of materials used in projects.
In 2011, the school earned a six-year accreditation from CIDA. For reaccreditation, CIDA requires a three-day onsite review by a visiting team of three practitioners/educators to determine whether a program meets its standards for interior design/architecture education. A significant element in this peer-review process is evaluating student work to determine achievement levels as an indicator of the adequacy of the required curriculum. Student learning is a primary gauge of educational quality and is evaluated for demonstration of knowledge, understanding, ability, skills, appropriate application and competency.
The team also considers academic and professional qualifications of the faculty; adequacy of the facilities; administrative structure of the program and its relationship to the institution as a whole; and program assessment methods.
The team toured the building, reviewed student work, met with faculty and interviewed students.
In addition to the CIDA accreditation, the School of Interior Architecture earned a nine-year accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design in 2011. For information about the college’s accreditations, visit archdesign.utk.edu/academics/accreditation/.
