Gabb has been involved with CIDA leadership in a variety of capacities for nine years. She is currently serving her second three-year term on CIDA’s Standards Committee and is the 2012 Committee Chair. She previously served as chair of the Committee in 2009 and 2010. Gabb also served on the CIDA Board of Directors as liaison to the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) from 2003 through 2008. During her two terms on the CIDA Board, Gabb contributed a high level of leadership to CIDA’s standards development project as the Board liaison to the Standards Committee.

During her tenure as a CIDA volunteer, Gabb has been a champion of quality standards for interior design education and the accreditation process. Her commitment to CIDA paired with her strong communication skills has strengthened CIDA’s relationships with important community stakeholders. She has encouraged other educators to volunteer and has served as an excellent ambassador by promoting CIDA’s role and value throughout her involvement. Gabb’s high level of engagement also has included delivering presentations at CIDA Accreditation Workshops for programs seeking accreditation as well as at CIDA site visitor training.

CIDA established the Keith Hooks Volunteer Excellence Award as a legacy to former Director Keith Hooks whose 20+ years of volunteer leadership immeasurably impacted thousands of students in CIDA-accredited programs. “Betsy Gabb’s many contributions to CIDA are exceptional and worthy of this highest honor,” states John Lijewski, Board Chair. “Her commitment to strengthening CIDA quality standards for interior design education and promoting a positive relationship with the educator community is remarkable. The Board is very pleased to recognize her achievements with this award.

Over 130 interior design educators and practitioners currently volunteer for CIDA. Only one Keith Hooks Volunteer Excellence Award is presented annually.

The Council for Interior Design Accreditation is an independent, non-profit, accrediting organization responsible for setting standards and evaluating degree granting interior design programs. Learn more at www.accredit-id.org.

CIDA is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), an organization that recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations, and serves as a national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation. In order to maintain this CHEA recognition, CIDA proposed changes to its Confidentiality and Disclosure and Program Announcement and Disclosure of Accredited Status policies and procedures, and proposed changes were posted on CIDA’s website for community review and comment in fall 2011. To review the complete rationale and description of proposed changes click here.

CIDA’s Accreditation Commission would like to thank everyone who participated in the review and comment for their thoughtful and insightful feedback. The Accreditation Commission agreed with some of the primary concerns with proposed changes that were identified, including:

• Publishing program compliance with CIDA Standards could be confusing to parents and prospective students who may not have a strong comprehension about the technical meaning and interrelationships inherent in CIDA Professional Standards or the holistic nature of CIDA’s accreditation process.
• Publishing program compliance with CIDA Standards could create an unintentional ranking of programs.
• Listing the requirement for an interim visit could lead to public misperception by implying that some programs have partial accreditation while others have full accreditation.

After careful consideration of stakeholders’ comments and concerns and following CIDA staff consultation with a CHEA representative, the Accreditation Commission did not recommend implementation of the proposed policy changes to disclose a program’s level of compliance with each standard or to publish a requirement for an interim visit. Rather than publishing these details, the announcement of accreditation decisions will include more elaboration about the rigorous nature of CIDA’s accreditation process as the basis for accreditation decisions. This explanation will not relate to any one, single accreditation decision, but will more generally relate to how the accreditation process forms the basis for sound, reliable decisions about program quality relative to compliance with CIDA standards.

The CIDA Accreditation Commission recommended one policy changeto the CIDA Board of Directors following the review and comment. The CIDA Board of Directors voted to adopt the policy change (effective June 1, 2012) that CIDA will publicly disclose denial of accreditation or candidacy status to applicant programs when announcing accreditation decisions made at Accreditation Commission meetings. As is currently the case, an applicant program may withdraw from the process of seeking accreditation at any time upon providing written notice to CIDA’s Accreditation Commission. Announcements of denial of initial accreditation or candidacy will remain on the CIDA website for six months.

Click here to download updated policy and procedure document.

One new Director appointment was made to the nine-member Board. Mark Strauss, Hon. IIDA, was appointed as public representative. Strauss is the President of Interior Design Media. Strauss was named Publisher of Interior Design Magazine in 1994 and under his leadership the brand has experienced strong and continuous growth. Strauss has also led the development of interiordesign.net, which has grown to become a predominant industry website. In his role as a leader in the interior design community, Strauss is Chairman of Interior Design Hall of Fame, an active participant in many industry associations, and a frequent speaker at industry events.

Additionally, Carl Matthews, Associate Professor at the University of Texas Austin, was re-appointed to serve a second three-year term on the CIDA Board.

The Council for Interior Design Accreditation is an independent, non-profit, accrediting organization responsible for setting standards and evaluating degree granting interior design programs. There are 172 CIDA-accredited programs in the U.S., Canada, and Qatar. For more information about the Board of Directors, go to accredit-id.org.

For more information:
Holly Mattson, Executive Director
Telephone: 616.458.0400

*Presentation proposals should be submitted for consideration to CIDA no later than February 15, 2012.

1) Program Self-study

CIDA is seeking a presenter on the topic of:

Program self-study in preparation for a CIDA accreditation review. If your program conducted a self-study in preparation for an accreditation review under Professional Standards 2009/2011, please consider sharing your wisdom and experience by submitting a presentation proposal.

Presentation proposals must address:

• How CIDA’s Professional Standards 2009/2011 were used for self-assessment
• What assessment methods were used and which produced the best information about program quality
• Who was engaged, and how, in the analysis of self-assessment information
• What conclusions were drawn from the assessment and how the program has acted on those conclusions
• How assessment prepared the program for an accreditation review and advice to programs undertaking self-study in preparation for an accreditation review

To submit a presentation proposal, please e-mail Megan Scanlan and request the proposal form. One proposal will be chosen for presentation. The presentation should be approximately 50 minutes in length, including time for discussion.

The presenter will receive a $200 honorarium and is welcome to attend all or part of the workshop free of charge.

2) Writing the Program Analysis Report

CIDA is seeking a presenter on the topic of:

Writing the self-study Program Analysis Report in preparation for a CIDA accreditation review. Programs that have recently gone through the accreditation process discuss the strategies and methods used to write a concise and informative Program Analysis Report. Programs are encouraged to share the completed Program Analysis Report (or selections from the report) with workshop participants.

Presentation proposals must address:

• Who was engaged, and how, in writing the Program Analysis Report
• The timeline that was developed to guide the report writing process, and how closely the program adhered to the timeline
• The process that was used to determine what type and how much information to include in the report, particularly when addressing the program’s compliance with CIDA Standards

• What Standards were the most difficult to address and why these areas were troublesome

To submit a presentation proposal, please e-mail Megan Scanlan and request the proposal form. One proposal will be chosen for presentation. The presentation should be approximately 30 minutes and include time for questions.

If your presentation proposal is chosen, you will receive a $150 honorarium. Additionally, presenters may attend all or part of the workshop free of charge.

3) Organizing a Student Work Display

CIDA is accepting presentation proposals on the following topic:

How did you organize the student work display? Programs having recently gone through the accreditation process discuss the strategies and methods used to set up an organized display of student work. CIDA is especially interested in receiving proposals from programs that found creative ways to resolve challenges related to storing and displaying student work. Programs are encouraged to share photos of their student work display.

To submit a presentation proposal, please e-mail Megan Scanlan and request the proposal form. Up to two proposals will be chosen for presentation. The presentation should be approximately 30 minutes and include time for questions.

If your presentation proposal is chosen, you will receive a $150 honorarium. Additionally, presenters may attend all or part of the workshop free of charge.

CIDA’s Accreditation Workshop provides faculty members and administrators from programs interested in seeking accreditation and currently accredited programs with helpful insight and guidance. Participants will gain a wealth of information about CIDA’s accreditation process and best practices for undertaking a CIDA review. A panel discussion featuring experienced program coordinators and site visitors will focus on successful techniques for preparing for a site visit, writing the Program Analysis Report, and providing evidence of student learning. Other presentations and activities will focus on understanding and using CIDA Standards as a tool for effective program self-study and continuous quality improvement. Attendees will receive CEU credit.

Workshop features:

• Valuable how-to information to help your program prepare for a CIDA review
• Real stories from programs that have recently completed a CIDA review
• Advice from site visitors, program coordinators, and others about organizing an effective site visit
• Opportunities to engage in discussion that will enhance understanding of accreditation and CIDA’s Professional Standards 2011

Fee: $385 for all-day workshop, lunch included

Registration: Registration for this workshop closes February 23, 2012. Please visit the IDEC website to register.

For more information contact:
Megan Scanlan, Director of Accreditation
Telephone: 616.458.0400