NCIDQ Announces New Institutional Accreditation Policy

October 6, 2008
Contact: Alexis Fermanis at 202.721.0220

WASHINGTON, DC - The National Council for Interior Design Qualification, Inc. (NCIDQ) announces a new policy regarding institutional accreditation. The policy, effective January 1, 2009, will require all exam candidates to have completed a program leading to a certificate, degree or diploma that is housed within an accredited academic institution, at the time the degree was obtained.

This new accreditation policy applies only to academic institutions, not specific degrees or programs. Most colleges and state-supported institutions have national or regional accreditation and therefore already meet NCIDQ's requirement. The policy affects a very small percentage of NCIDQ's candidate population.

NCIDQ has not changed its policy regarding interior design programs. NCIDQ still accepts education from programs that are not accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), which accredits interior design programs. Because CIDA requires an accredited program to be housed within an accredited institution, CIDA-accredited programs automatically meet the requirements of NCIDQ's new policy.

"Many people confuse institutional and program accreditation," explains NCIDQ Executive Director Jeff Kenney. "Because we don't require CIDA-accredited degrees, we have established this policy to further legitimize our acceptance of current educational standards."

Accreditation is the primary method of assuring quality standards of higher education in institutions and programs in the United States and Canada. This form of self-regulation is carried out through private, non-profit organizations that establish quality standards and evaluate student achievement, curriculum content, faculty, services and academic support according to those standards.

Acceptable institutions are those accredited by one of the following:

• An institutional accrediting body that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
• A Provincial Ministry of Education in Canada
• A recognized Foreign Quality Assurance System from countries other than the United States and Canada

In the United States, approved accrediting organizations are institutions that have been reviewed for quality by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education. For more information on accreditation or to find out if your institution is accredited, visit www.chea.org.

NCIDQ^® is an organization of regulatory boards and provincial associations in the United States and Canada whose core purpose is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design. More information about the organization may be found at www.ncidq.org.

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