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Southern U. School of Architecture Wins Reaccredidation

Southern University’s School of Architectureis retaining accreditation for its five-year Bachelor ofArchitecture program after passing muster with a visiting advisoryteam from the National Architectural Accrediting Board, Inc.

“It shows that we are showing progress,” saidAdenrele A. Awotona, Ph.D., dean of the school. “Now the programcan continue in an accredited status without any interruption.”

SUSA’s accreditation expired on Dec. 31.The advisory team visited from Jan. 22 to 25. The accrediting boarddecided at a Feb. 6-7 meeting to approve the program on aprobationary basis until Dec. 31, 2005.

In a Feb. 18 letter to Southern ChancellorEdward R. Jackson, Joseph P. Giattina, Jr., president of theaccrediting board, said the program’s continued accreditationrequired the School of Architecture to submit annual reports, whichare due by June 1.

The reports must include responses to each”not met” condition or “cause of concern” identified in the latestVisiting Team Report. The team’s last report, dated March2002, cited 13 deficiencies.

Second-year architecture student Elton Pulletsaid he was happy that everything was out in the open.

“Everyone was nervous of not knowing if we hadaccreditation,” Pullet said. “We as students were under theimpression that we had accreditation. We had no idea of what to do,we had no vision.”

NAAB is the sole agency authorized to accreditU.S. professional degree programs in architecture. Without theaccreditation, a student majoring in the architecture program inthe state of Louisiana would not be allowed to take the licensingexam needed to practice architecture.

The next accreditation visit is to occur in2006, when the visiting team can recommend either a three-year termof accreditation or revocation of accreditation with no possibilityof candidacy status until 2010.

Nikki G. Bannister and Brandi Worley, studentsat Southern University, write for The Southern Digest.