Licensing Board Activities

by Bill Bisson, AIA, NCARB

Chairman, State Board of Licensure of Architects, Landscape Architects and Interior Designers

Spring is here, and with it comes ongoing review of the Board’s rules. For starters we have proposed rule revisions to change the “rolling clock” for the Architects Registration Examination (ARE) from three to five years. This is being done to bring our requirements into line with NCARB’s. What it will mean is that Maine ARE candidates will have a five-year, rather than three-year “window” within which to pass all sections of the exams after successful completion of a first section. Our review process will continue in the next few months. During that period, we expect to address a number of issues including mandatory continuing education, acceptable formats for licensees’ seals, consistency between Rules and Statute, and general housekeeping and updating of the language.

A word about Continuing Education (CE): although many jurisdictions have adopted mandatory CE as a condition for continued licensure, evidence is mixed as to whether or not it improves professional competency (hence public health, safety and welfare). It seems to make sense that it would, but studies such as the 2002 California Architects Proficiency Survey have concluded “on an overall basis, there is not a significant proficiency problem that would warrant mandatory continuing education at this time.” As befits California, this study was long running and comprehensive, and included focus groups, task forces, committees and a scientific survey.

Other professions have also been studying the CE issue, with similar results; in 2003 the National Council of State Boards of Nursing published Exploring the Value of Continuing Education Mandates, which is the product of an exhaustive study of the subject. This report concludes in part: “No significant or practically relevant differences were found in the amount of growth (in 10 measured categories of professional ability) experienced by nurses … with and without CE mandates.”

It certainly is the prerogative of a professional association such as AIA to require CE of its members. What remains to be resolved is the question as to whether it is actually needed to protect the public. In the spirit of Mies’ “Less is More,” it could be argued that if it isn’t needed, it shouldn’t be public law. In any case there are plenty of opinions both pro and con and room for a lot of discussion—which I’m sure there will be in the coming months.

With regard to licensees’ seals, our Statute only mandates a seal “of such design as the board authorizes and directs” (Title 32, Chapter 3-A, Section 225). To the best of my knowledge, there has been no formal Board action that authorizes and directs any particular design or method of application (including electronic), although the traditional manually applied round seal is the de facto standard. So, this too will be the subject of Board discussion and probable action in the near future.

Stay tuned—as always, your comments will be welcome!

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