Orientation for New Site Visitors
CIDA’s Mission, Value, and the Guiding
Principles of Peer Review
Introduction
This presentation addresses CIDA’s mission, values,
and the guiding principles of peer review. Before
participating in a site visit, you should review the
training presentations on CIDA’s website, the Site
Visitor Handbook, and attend an in-person training
workshop.
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CIDA’s Mission
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation provides the
foundation for future excellence in the interior design
profession by setting standards for education and
accrediting academic programs that meet those
standards.
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Value of CIDA
 Accreditation is a quality assurance process that
replaces government regulation of higher education.
 Accreditation is a process that includes program selfevaluation and peer review.
 CIDA is a specialized (discipline-specific) accreditor.
 CIDA accredits interior design programs that culminate
in a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.
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Value of CIDA
 Accreditation promotes the achievement of high
academic standards
 Accreditation makes education responsive to students
and society by maintaining standards that accurately
reflect the evolving requirements of the profession.
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Value of CIDA
CIDA ensures quality in interior design education by:
Setting standards for postsecondary interior design
education.
Evaluating and accrediting interior design programs at
colleges and universities.
Facilitating outreach and collaboration with all
stakeholders in the interior design community.
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Value of CIDA
Setting Standards:
 A core responsibility of CIDA is to set and periodically
update standards for interior design education.
 CIDA exercises a well-established protocol in
developing educational standards.
 CIDA’s Standards Committee stewards the standardsetting process.
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Value of CIDA
Evaluating and accrediting interior design programs:
 The accreditation process includes program self-study
and an on-site review conducted by CIDA site visitors.
 CIDA’s Accreditation Commission (composed of 5
experienced site visitors, 1 accredited program
representative, and 1 public representative) decides to
grant or deny accreditation depending on a program’s
level of compliance with the Standards.
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Value of CIDA
Facilitating outreach:
 CIDA consistently communicates with all relevant
stakeholders in the interior design community.
 This communication guides CIDA’s outreach efforts and
actions.
 These efforts and actions utilize brainstorming,
teamwork, and consensus-building to address issues
and concerns in the interior design community.
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Value of CIDA
Examples of CIDA outreach efforts include:
 Interior Design Profession’s Body of Knowledge, 2005
and 2009 Updates, joint sponsorship with 5 other
design associations.
 Careers in Interior Design Website –
www.careersininteriordesign.com
 Video competitions hosted by IDEC, CIDA, NCIDQ, and
other partners if appropriate
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Value of CIDA
As a site visitor, you will assist CIDA in serving:
 Academic programs
 Parents and students
 The interior design profession
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Value of CIDA
CIDA serves academic programs by:
 Facilitating self-assessment and development by
requiring programs to complete a self-study process.
 Acting as a strong marketing tool and helping
programs fulfill enrollment goals.
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Value of CIDA
CIDA serves student and parents by:
 Assisting them in selecting the right school by serving
as a strong indicator of program quality.
 Providing an objective third-party assessment of
programs.
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Value of CIDA
CIDA serves the profession by:
 Assuring potential employers and clients that interns
and potential employees with CIDA-accredited degrees
have received an education that meets specific
standards of competency.
 Serving interior design professional organizations’
commitment to enhancing and strengthening
education and the profession.
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Guiding Principles of
Peer Review
 Site visitors serve as ambassadors of CIDA by
promoting understanding of it’s mission and work in
the interior design community.
 Site visitors are drawn from interior design practice
and education.
 Site visitors participate in the peer review process by
gathering evidence and making informed decisions
regarding program compliance using CIDA’s
Professional Standards for evaluation.
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Guiding Principles of
Peer Review
The goal of peer review is to evaluate a program’s
compliance with CIDA Standards and to document the
evaluation clearly in a written report.
You must always use unbiased judgment when
determining program compliance.
Following good practices for peer review will help you
perform well in the role of site visitor. Examples of these
practices are outlined in the following slides.
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Guiding Principles of
Peer Review
Always use your background and experience to make
informed judgments regarding program quality.
CIDA visiting teams consist of three members, each
team includes at least one educator and one
practitioner.
CIDA site visitors are experts who come together to
evaluate the quality of an interior design program.
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Guiding Principles of
Peer Review
 The visiting team must focus only on criteria included
in CIDA’s Standards for evaluation.
 The visiting team’s evaluation must not be excessively
influenced by one team member’s area of expertise or
ideas regarding the necessary requirements for
practice.
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Guiding Principles of
Peer Review
 Accreditation uses threshold standards as a measure of
quality – CIDA accreditation status makes no
distinction between programs that meet standards and
those that exceed standards.
 Not all programs will exceed CIDA Standards.
 When reviewing a program, be objective.
 Comparisons to other programs are strictly prohibited.
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Guiding Principles of
Peer Review
 As a site visitor, you must observe appropriate
protocols.
 Professional courtesy sets the stage for respectful
dialogue between site visitors, program
representatives, and others engaged in the review
process.
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Follow-up
Thank you for reviewing the Peer Review presentation.
Please complete a brief quiz using the link below:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CLNQSHDBJ/
This quiz will take approximately 10 minutes. CIDA staff
will review your responses and forward you the results.
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