Architectural Profession Act, 2000 (Act No. 44 of 2000)RulesRules for Accreditation15. Accreditation Panel and Accreditation Board |
Accreditation Panel
| (a) | The Accreditation Panel is a “pool’’ of suitably qualified and approved registered professionals and academics from whom members of the Accreditation Board are drawn from for each accreditation visit |
| (b) | The Accreditation Panel is constituted through a general public call to the architectural profession, educational institutions and the public, calling for suitably qualified professionals (registered professionals / academics) to apply to serve as members of the Accreditation Panel. |
| (c) | The Members of the Accreditation Panel must be registered professionals in good standing with SACAP. The Accreditation Panel must be representative in respect of gender, race, age, professional registration category, academic experience and practice experience. In addition, the Accreditation Panel shall include members with experience in transformation, academic development, student representatives and those with continental and international affiliations. |
| (d) | The Accreditation Panel selection process must be transparent so as to facilitate the nomination of suitably qualified members based on their experience while demonstrating capability as experts in the judgement of educational achievement in architecture. |
Accreditation Board members
| (e) | The accreditation visit is conducted a team of registered professionals and academics drawn from the SACAP’s Accreditation Panel. (Refer to Appendix B for detailed information on the processes and procedures of the Accreditation Panel and the Accreditation Board). |
| (f) | The Accreditation Board may be supported by observers. |
| (g) | The Accreditation Board shall include one Council member who is delegated by the Council to participate in the accreditation process. The majority of the Accreditation Board members must be independent non-Council members. |
Scope of the work of the Accreditation Board
| (h) | The Accreditation Board conducts accreditation visits for: |
| • | new or continued accreditation; |
| • | to assess the ALS after conditional accreditation or withdrawal of accreditation. |
| • | For annual reviews. |
| (i) | The Accreditation Board reviews the evidence provided by the ALS to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills against the SACAP competencies (Appendix A) in line with the transformation of the architectural profession plan. |
| (j) | The Accreditation Board shall focus on the evidence presented and not specifically on the process of teaching and learning. The latter does, however, provide an important context against which the evidence is viewed. |
| (k) | The Accreditation Board must assess coursework and outcomes in terms of structure, credits, content, teaching and learning, practical and intellectual ability. |
| (l) | The Accreditation Board shall respect the prerogative of an ALS to formulate the teaching and learning design, policies and procedures. Accreditation Board’s role is not to instruct the ALS how to conduct its academic business but scrutinise architectural programmes to ensure compliance with SACAP Competencies. (Guidance and breakdown of tasks are included in Appendix B). |
| (m) | The roles and responsibilities of each member of an Accreditation Board are explained in detail in Appendix B. |
Accreditation Board requirements
| (n) | When appointing Accreditation Board, SACAP shall ensure that there is a balance of appropriate experience and the requirements suited for the ALS’s circumstances. |
| (o) | SACAP shall consider International architectural education experience when appointing Accreditation Board members. |
| (p) | SACAP shall ensure that the Accreditation Board members are diversified in terms gender, race, and experience. |
| (q) | One Accreditation Board member shall be delegated by the Education Committee for every accreditation visit. |
| (r) | To ensure continuity, at least one Accreditation Board member must have been part of the previous accreditation visit to the specific ALS; |
| (s) | At least one Accreditation Board member shall be delegated by the Council. |
| (t) | Preferably Accreditation Board members shall be from the same geographical region as the ALS under accreditation to save time and costs. However, geographical considerations shall not compromise the experience, skills and competencies required for an Accreditation Board. |
| (u) | The Accreditation Board is appointed by the Registrar based on the recommendations of the Senior Manager: Professional Statutory Services. |
| (v) | The appointment of Accreditation Board members shall be communicated to the head of the ALS well in advance. The communication shall include Accreditation Board members qualifications and experience. |
| (w) | Accreditation Board members shall be informed no later than three (3) months about the appointment prior to a planned accreditation visit. |
| (x) | Members of the Accreditation Board shall declare any conflict of interest whether real or perceived prior to the accreditation visit. |
| (y) | For an advisory visit, the Accreditation Board shall consist of three (3) academics. |