Everything involved in producing results, including the mission and philosophy of the program, curriculum design, budget, the academic advisory system, academic preparation of faculty members, guest lecturers, field trips, studio and classroom spaces and so on are evaluated. The emphasis, however, is on how well the students demonstrate that learning has taken place. Student achievement is measured against standards that outline in detail the knowledge and skills to be learned. Teams look at projects, sketches, process drawings, presentation boards, notebooks, papers, models, color boards and more. Hours are spent carefully examining this work.
Time is spent observing classes in session and interviewing students and alumni.
If the team can't find evidence in the work displayed they ask for more student work in a specific area or areas. Teams are like detectives trying to find clues that show students know what they are supposed to know and can do what they are supposed to do as interior designers. Accreditation indicates that a program has met standards developed by the profession and higher education. It does not say how good a school may be in relation to others. It is a sound measure of quality in education that can be used to guide decision making.