BEA Education Dossier
The objective of the education dossier is to allow you to demonstrate learning through experience as a registered architect to satisfy education deficiencies and meet the requirements of the NCARB Education Standard as an alternative to the education requirement for NCARB certification (a professional degree from a NAAB-accredited program). Your dossier must include descriptions and documentation of your learning through experience as a registered architect. These must relate directly to your specific education deficiencies.
It is important that you select practice experience for which you were personally responsible; that meets the definitions of comprehensive practice and responsible control, as defined in the Certification Guidelines; and relates to specific subject areas in which you have education deficiencies.
Comprehensive Practice means an architectural practice that regularly involves familiarity with all of those areas tested on the Architect Registration Examination, including programming, design, technical and construction documents production, and construction administration.
Responsible Control means that amount of control over and detailed professional knowledge of the content of technical submissions during their preparation as is ordinarily exercised by a registered architect applying the required professional standard of care.
Your dossier must conform to specific format requirements and utilize standard forms. These are provided after NCARB has confirmed your eligibility and after completion of your EESA-NCARB Education Evaluation, if required. If your dossier does not meet format and submission requirements or if your references cannot be verified, it will not be accepted. The Format Review fee is applied to resubmit a revised dossier.
Your dossier will include general forms requiring information necessary to confirm registration, project eligibility, and comprehensive practice and responsible control. There will also be forms and instructions necessary to demonstrate learning through experience. There are three critical elements for demonstration of learning through experience:
1. Descriptions
You must describe your practice experience as a registered architect through which you gained learning through experience. These must relate directly to the documentation submitted and your specific education deficiencies.
2. Experience Documentation
There are a number of experiences that can result in learning at the appropriate level. These experiences may include but are not limited to various aspects of practice, architectural projects, professional responsibilities, seminars and training programs, continuing education, and professional volunteer and community activities.
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
-
You may only include in your dossier projects completed in the jurisdiction in which you hold or held registration for the project duration as examples of learning through experience.
-
Projects complete prior to initial registration in a U.S. jurisdiction and projects complete in a jurisdiction in which you do not or did not hold registration for the project duration are not eligible and you may not include these in your dossier.
3. Annotation of Experience Documentation
You must annotate your documentation to include detailed information about the significance of each drawing and to identify key elements within each document that demonstrate learning through experience to satisfy the subject area definition of the NCARB Education Standard.
Your dossier is reviewed by the BEA Committee to determine if it demonstrates that you have achieved the required learning through experience to address education deficiencies and to verify your role and responsibility for projects and experience included in the dossier. You do not attend or participate in the dossier review. Results of the dossier review are announced approximately four weeks after the review.
Dossier Review fees are due upon dossier submission. Forms, program requirements, and fees are subject to change. You are required to meet current program requirements at the time of dossier submission.
Dossier Submission Dates:
- May 5, 2013
- August 19, 2013
- September 6, 2013
- December 9, 2013
- January 6, 2014
You may submit your dossier at any time; however, in choosing a submission date, it is important that you allow sufficient time to prepare and submit your dossier. It is your responsibility to ensure that your projects meet all eligibility requirements and that your dossier meets all format and submission requirements.
Please refer to process-specific format requirements and use forms provided by NCARB.
Software Requirement:
Adobe Acrobat Standard or Pro 9.0 or higher