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Continued Debate – FIDER Accreditation
Education 19 years ago No Comments


The last two months we have asked for reader input concerning the following issue: Regarding the way that some states are writing / have written their Interior Design legislation Acts (Title and/or Practice), one must have graduated from a FIDER accredited program in order to become licensed in that state. Where does that leave non-FIDER accredited graduates, and should this be considered fair” What we lacked for in May, we’ve made up for in June: many readers have responded, and they’ve addressed some valid points. Read on and decide with whom you agree…

[Note: If you have not already, first read both the April 2005 and May 2005 installments LEARN, BABY, LEARN to get up to speed on the argument. Though we plan to run a different type of article in July’s section, please keep the opinions coming. We’ll be sure to hang on to them and publish them in the coming months. As you can see, there’s a lot to discuss, so let’s really open up the debate – all opinions are welcome! Please send your comments to PLiNTH & CHiNTZ by emailing us: contact@plinthandchintz.com. Let your voice be heard – that’s why we’re here.]

Email from: CATHY CATLIN
subject: FIDER discussion

While I agree with the need for title / practice acts and the premise that a FIDER accredited school should ensure that graduates have the necessary education to practice as an interior designer, I have a couple of comments:

First, my work and the work of some of my extremely talented classmates is currently being used for the FIDER accreditation process at the school from which I graduated. If the school succeeds in obtaining accreditation, it is, in part, because of our work – this work shows that the minimum requirements are being met in the program. However, we will not be able to say that we graduated from a FIDER-accredited program – even though our work was showcased and used as proof that the standards are being met.

Meanwhile, assuming the program obtains accreditation, other students from the same program, whose work may or may not be equal to ours, will graduate from the same school, which is now a FIDER-accredited program and (theoretically) win jobs over us because their transcripts state that the school was FIDER-accredited, and ours do not. So where does that leave me and my fellow pre-FIDER-accreditation graduates” We have graduated from a non-FIDER-accredited program; however, our work is FIDER-accredited caliber, as proven by the fact that the program was able to obtain accreditation. It is rather maddening, to say the least! Hopefully, we will all pass the NCIDQ exam and this will become a moot point.

Second, I agree with Ms. Santorelli that there are probably many good programs out there who choose not to become accredited but are graduating qualified interior designers. And I also agree with Mr. Dudek that in order to become recognized as a profession we should have strict standards that need to be met, e.g. graduate from a FIDER-accredited program and pass the NCIDQ exam. But if the NCIDQ exam is really the "indicator" that this person has demonstrated mastery of interior design, should it really matter from which program they graduated” I understand that the NCIDQ exam is extremely tough – so someone without the appropriate knowledge and experience has very little chance of passing it. I would surmise that there are FIDER-accredited program graduates who will not pass the exam, and, conversely, there are non-FIDER-accredited program graduates who will. Isn’t what we’re really after is the PROOF that this person knows all of the things that they need to know in order to design safe, functional and beautiful environments” If so, I believe if someone has demonstrated that they possess the skills, knowledge and ability to pass the NCIDQ exam, that this is confirmation that they are a professional interior designer.

Thanks for the opportunity to put in my two cents’ worth,
Cathy Catlin

 


Email from: BRUCE GOFF
subject: FIDER

 

Dear P & C –

I have been involved with Interior Design Legislation for almost 15 years. I was President and a key mediator with the State, AIA and the State Board of Architecture to create and pass the Practice Act in Nevada. Since then I have consulted through ASID with other coalitions wishing to pass design title or practice acts in their states.

I have heard the question raised about why is FIDER part of the mix for the profession and is there an equal.

First the easy one. Actually states with practice acts are working to craft the equal. Nevada has done it and it’s in the legislature now for approval. They are also creating a process for the ‘experienced’ designer who was educated before FIDER or had limited chance to go to a FIDER school. But the process will not be easy or quick. It is a practical answer to the next issue. What does the profession stand for.

Both ASID and IIDA state that the NCIDQ are the minimum standard. But both are professional groups like the AIA or AMA [American Medical Association]. Where the linkage to education – a degree in ID and FIDER, experience and examination comes in to play is where the designer has a scope of work and the state needs to insure to the public minimum competency. FIDER is a link just as the architecture profession has their own organization that reviews schools. All professions have this. FIDER is an accreditation process for interior design programs. An outside agency that reviews what is being taught, where and by whom to ensure that it meets the current and future needs of profession as a minimum education If we want to stand up and obtain a legitimate standing in the built environment we have to follow what all and I mean all other professions do.

Now to the real reason there is concern on the face of designers…. If I can not become certified or registered will I loose business or prestige etc. something for another discussion.

Bruce Goff

Email from: MARY HOWINGTON
subject: FIDER Accredited Schools vs. Distance Learning

I am currently a student at Rhodec International and the President of our ASID student chapter. I just wanted to add that I too agree with FIDER’s goals and its objective to ensure all interior designers are licensed, uphold rigorous standards and meet certain criteria to be worthy of calling themselves professionals. I feel all interior design professionals should be fully qualified, highly educated, well rounded in the field and respect interior design for the profession it has become.

My concern lies only with the way in which FIDER feels they can resolve these issues- by requiring all interior design students attend a FIDER accredited school in order to qualify for future licensure in their area and to obtain the prestigious rank of professional in the field. Isn’t the NCIDQ exam sufficient in "weeding out" individuals who did not acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills during their educational path, before they become licensed. If not, why not make the exam more stringent, more extensive or more inclusive, whatever it takes to ensure only qualified individuals will become licensed to practice anywhere. From what I’ve heard about this exam, it already more than fulfills this need, so I am really unsure why FIDER feels there is a problem.

I also agree that there should most certainly be educational requirements to sit the exam, to become licensed and to serve as members of interior design organizations, such as ASID and IIDA. I just don’t feel it is appropriate to limit where we get this education or that only traditional colleges who offer 4 year degree programs should be considered the only ones qualified to provide it. How can my educational experience be deemed unacceptable based solely on the school I attend and not my own personal knowledge, talents and skills gained throughout the experience” Besides, if I don’t gain the necessary knowledge of practice through my chosen interior design program, I won’t pass the NCIDQ exam anyway, therefore will not obtain a license or lessen the standards of the profession.

As an adult who works full time to help support my family, I don’t have the luxury of attending classes at my local university. Nevertheless, a few years ago I made the decision to further my education and extend my career into interior design. I was left with no other option but to attend college via distance learning in order to obtain my goal. Am I not entitled to have the opportunity to become a licensed professional, even if I do obtain adequate knowledge of the field to pass the NCIDQ exam and can offer educational experience as evidence of sufficient qualifications”

I, like many people, had serious doubts about this form of education in the past. But, after taking the plunge and enrolling in Rhodec, I have come to believe distance learning can be a very viable means of quality education for the right individual. Just like students in traditional colleges, your education is what you make of it, and the results will depend greatly on how much effort you put into it as an individual.

There are students enrolled in distance learning schools who are just as passionate about interior design and strive to uphold the same professional standards as those in traditional colleges. If FIDER would take more time to do proper research of individuals studying programs via distance learning and less time making assumptions based on the merits of a particular school, they would see that some individuals are just as capable of obtaining quality education and the necessary skills involved in the profession in this manner and are just as motivated, dedicated and determined to become true professionals in the field as students studying in the traditional means.

Sincerely,
Mary Howington

Email from: TRACY WEEKS
subject: FIDER

I agree with Susi [Santorelli] completely. Title Acts and such are appropriate, but how does an agency that evaluates schools decide if I’m competent to practice design. I could be denied that privilege even if I have passed the NCIDQ exam” My state, Virginia , has wording of “equivalent accrediting organization approved by the board” as seen below. Just what is that and who decides” Hmmm.

“The applicant shall hold a four-year degree from an institution accredited by the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) or an equivalent accrediting organization approved by the board, have two years of monitored experience, and have passed the examination for certification as an interior designer.”

I wanted to comment again after reading Mike’s [Dudek] comments as per below:

“The only way (at this point) to ensure that the profession of Interior Design elevates itself to the level of respect and status that those of us who have followed the accepted path (per FIDER & NCIDQ) demand, is to make sure that all interior designers graduate from an FIDER accredited program AND pass the NCIDQ exam – at a minimum.”

I agree that 3 criteria should be met to practice Interior Design: education, testing, and experience. I don’t think that FIDER is the one and only acceptable authority as to what’s the best education. If this is true, then only graduating from a FIDER accredited school should be all that’s required; no need for passing the NCIDQ exam. If, on the other hand, NCIDQ testing is required as the second element regardless if the education was FIDER accredited or not, then a student should pass the exam if the education was quality. I agree with Susi, I can’t be a doctor if I don’t graduate from a school accredited by “an organization like FIDER””

Tracy Weeks

Email from: SHEREE SCHOLD
subject: FIDER debate

I am very much in favor of education standards and accreditation bodies that seek to provide a profession with qualified practitioners. I am very interested in the FIDER standards as my design program is not FIDER accredited. By becoming familiar with FIDER’s web posted standards and examples of methods for schools to meet them, I have been able to identify some weaknesses in my design program. This stimulated an interest in setting some objectives for myself and in seeking out other ways to enhance my education. For example, I have found the opportunities available with my Student Chapter of ASID to be a fantastic way to round off my education and strengthen certain areas.

However, I think the profession is making a serious mistake when it pushes States to make licensing laws based on one accreditation body. Let’s face it – U.S. politics would be in a very sorry state if we only had one political party deciding what is best for us. I understand that there are many organizations represented within FIDER, but there are many organizations and groups represented in one political party too. With a one party or one accreditation body system we will be too limited and the profession will suffer. Our profession is all about creativity and open minds. A diversity of designers, from various schools and programs with varying strengths and weaknesses, is much more objective and more natural even.

Still, certain educational standards are important, pushing US states to make sure licensed designers are well educated and competent is too, making all designers go to a school dictated by one accrediting agency is not.

As our profession and related industries grow, we may become more specialized and find we need a whole different perspective on standards for certain areas. Design programs even now are probably stronger in some areas depending on their faculty, geography, funding, and so on. What if one program has great sustainable design faculty and much related input and support in this area from other departments in their school and grants and private funding toward this end, but they are not FIDER accredited” If you are seriously interested in sustainable design and this looks like the best school for your educational design interest and you know you will get a great education, do you walk away and go to the FIDER accredited program” What if the state where you are going to practice mandates that you have to go to a FIDER accredited program to obtain a license to practice in that state, but the ones available to you do not have as high a quality of sustainable design input, your chosen interest”

Okay, basic educational standards are necessary, I agree. And even more advanced educational standards may be needed for certain areas of practice. But we are not talking about ranking programs and states deciphering if a designer is qualified to practice, or if there is an agency that sets some advanced standards for subspecialties, we are talking about one accrediting agency making all the rules and basically deciding if you will get a license in some states. This accrediting agency doesn’t qualify you as a designer – i’s purpose is to assure quality educational institutions. They never look at you, they never test you. They have no idea if you have three other degrees and studied design from a fabulous mentor who is internationally known and respected. They will only know if the design program you graduated from went through their rigorous and lengthy accrediting process (not to mention expensive for schools to do.)

The NCIDQ is a qualifying exam. It tests you as a designer and your skills and knowledge. But if things continue the way they are headed, you could ace the NCIDQ, be a Professional member of ASID and IIDA, get grant funding, publish, speak, be highly regarded by your peers and not be able to get a license in your state!

Why states are using FIDER accredited institutions to qualify individual designers for practice is beyond me. There are other design school accrediting bodies, I am unsure how States demanding only one for licensing purpose would not be discriminatory even. I would love for someone who knows about these to speak up. I can understand a state wanting to make sure your education was satisfactory and using accreditation as one way in several to ascertain this. But I also think that some schools will shine in various ways without any US accreditation at all, and I don’t think it should be a problem in any state for a good designer who graduated from a design school who follows established and listed educational standards and who passes the NCIDQ to get a license, regardless.

Our profession isn’t the only one who must deal with these issues. A July 6, 1999 article in American Medical News stated that the American Medical Association decided against supporting mandatory medical school accreditation and voted on language that encouraged voluntary medical school accreditation (and not just by one agency either). They were concerned that as the "parent" of an accrediting body, the AMA could be seen as restraining trade in the medical education arena. And they were not seeking to have one accreditation agency govern licensing! They only wanted all medical schools to go through some accreditation process where standards and policies and professional guidelines for education are set and schools evaluated.

Currently, foreign medical School graduates must meet certain qualifications and pass licensing board exams as set forth by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. What about Designers who are educated in other countries” FIDER makes it clear that it only accredits schools operating in this country. What about the school highlighted in the January PLiNTH & CHiNTZ, Parsons School of Design” A well-known and very respected institution that is to my knowledge not FIDER accredited. Parsons is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design [NASAD].

How is using one accreditation body for interior designers in some states to get licensing not restraining trade in the interior design educational arena” How is refusing license to designers based on the agency who accredited their design program but who passed the profession recognized individual certification exam accepted by that state (same as the designers they license) not discriminatory towards individual designers and individual schools” How does a State determine that one accreditation body is better than another” In what way is the NASAD deficient” If you are educated well enough to pass the recognized and accepted NCIDQ exam, how can a State determine that you are not professionally competent to obtain a license”

What about good teachers and professors and design programs and schools that offer education at lower cost levels and with lower overhead to students who could not otherwise afford a design program” The rigorous and lengthy and extra cost of FIDER accreditation for other wise good community colleges and small design programs or design only programs may not work for them.

If we want all licensed certified designers to have a BA or BS degree (as I understand it, FIDER will be limiting their accreditation to BS/BA programs only) then States should use the degree for qualifying along with the individual certification exam, not one educational accreditation body such as FIDER.

Having laws does not mean they cannot or will not be challenged in many ways. For example, there are law firms that specialize in foreign medical graduate U.S. MD licensing issues and the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare sets specific policies and conditions concerning this. As a graduate of a non-FIDER accredited design program giving me 60 Design Credit hours and qualifying me to sit for the NCIDQ exam at the level of a four year program when added to my already existing college credits (I already have a liberal arts BS degree), will I need to hire a lawyer to get a license in the U.S. State where I plan to practice” Are our profession and policy makers being too short sighted and actually pushing and setting policy that will restrict competent designers from practicing in this country” Is this a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees”

Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves and pushing so hard to have qualified design professionals with more and more legally recognized responsibilities and rights that relate to titles that we are over-stepping the boundaries of what accreditation is and should be.

I also want to address the response to this issue by Mike Dudek:

“1.) There are too many ‘interior design’ programs creating too many ‘interior designers’ for far too few ‘interior design’ jobs.”
This may very well be true, but attempting to solve this using restrictive licensing policy allowing one accreditation body to oversee and govern all design programs is short sighted and in my opinion also an open attempt to restrict trade in the design educational arena to an elite few. Besides, too many programs and too few jobs does not a bad or incompetent designer make! Licensing boards are established to assure that individual designers, whom they license, are qualified and competent, not cut down on the numbers. Having graduated from a program that is not FIDER accredited doesn’t necessarily establish incompetence, especially if that person has passed the NCIDQ. But too many programs and too few jobs should not be an issue in this debate, period.

“2.) There are far too many ‘interior decorators’ (a.k.a. under-qualified interior designers) posing as ‘interior designers’ because….. well, because they can. Although their days are numbered.”
I agree that titles and legal licensed capabilities and responsibilities needs some sorting out here. I also think that State licensing boards should be more precise on what a licensed title qualifies a person to do or not do, this is certainly true for other licensed professionals. Using FIDER accredited schools to make this happen doesn’t solve the problem. Our profession and FIDER should work on wording and rules and regulations specific to “titles” as they have been doing, but let designers prove themselves if they have graduated from a formal program of design, that has established some kind of higher education accreditation, by passing the NCIDQ. Do we really know that students who come from non-FIDER accredited programs are not competent or qualified to pass our accepted certification exam” Do we know that other Design program accrediting bodies do not educate students in a way that would prepare them for competent professional practice as designers” FIDER has established great Standards, yes, but does this mean they are the only group who cares about the profession and its students enough to create quality educational goals and hire good teachers” Is FIDER the only group capable of setting standards for such a varied profession” Do we really want one group to do this when our profession is so creative and diverse anyway”

“3.) The only way (at this point) to ensure that the profession of Interior Design elevates itself to the level of respect and status that those of us who have followed the accepted path (per FIDER & NCIDQ) demand, is to make sure that all interior designers graduate from an FIDER accredited program AND pass the NCIDQ exam – at a minimum.”
Please, tell me why we need both of these and why passing the exam shouldn’t suffice” Tell me how it has been determined that FIDER is better than other Design Accreditation bodies such as the one that accredits Parsons School of Design, at educating designers” Why is FIDER needed to decide if I am competent to practice when they accredit institutions not individuals” I agree that States have an easier job of licensing individuals when they know their program met high quality standards, but should FIDER be the only way to do this” I don’t think so. Designers are always “thinking outside the box,” but on this issue we seem to be trying hard to get stuck in one box!

Sheree Schold