you’d think it would be obvious. and most of my reasons probably are, but I’m going to list them anyway.
cost – the price keeps going up (arbitrarily it seems), making it harder and harder for recent graduates and interns to even sit for the exam. this is perhaps my biggest gripe because it has nothing to do with ensuring the best and brightest get licensed, just the ones with enough money at their disposal to get in the door.
ARE 4.0 – I’ve been a practicing intern architect since 2004 and in that time the ARE format has changed 3 time, from 3.0 to 3.1 to 4.0. So, in 6 years I’ve had to essentially “start over” 3 times because the format of the test keeps changing. This does nothing but make the process of test taking unnecessarily complicated and again has nothing to do with ensuring competent architects come out of the exams.
rolling clock – while I understand the need for this (I actually had a professor who waited more than 12 years to finish his exams), if you’re going to have a rolling clock then the format should not change every year, it should change in respect to the rolling clock schedule – every 5 years.
Finally, dear NCARB, STOP SCREWING AROUND WITH US! Work with the AIA and NAAB to develop a system where licensure is congruent with education. And some mentorship accountability would be nice too.
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thank you for saying what needed to be said. one of the reasons why i have yet to sit for my exams and because they have changed their IDP requirements, my work experience counts for nothing! fortunately, i can make these up with supplementary education programs but I still share your sentiment!
Yeah, IDP and NCARB is a rip off. Don’t even get me started on AIA dues and the (lack of) benefit there. Everyone always talks about reform and this and that and the other thing, but nothing they do changes anything about the process of licensure. No one wants to really look at concurrency (licensure in concurrence with education), which would make more sense – not to mention making it cheaper, especially these days. What I wish more than anything is that we could go back to the written test. 3 days, 12 hours per day – DONE. Get it done in one shot rather than taking YEARS to complete. If you fail the first go round, take it again in 6 months – again all at once.
We, as architects, have the same level of education as an MD, yet we’re paid less than half as much and it’s more difficult to get and maintain an architects license…..on what planet is this good sense? Ok I’m done ranting for now. Thanks for the comments! Ciao.