The 5 Reasons AXP is Failing Architect Candidates - No 1

The AXP is the Architectural Experience Program. This is NCARB’s system for helping you, the new design professional, document hours in areas that are important to gain competency in as an architect. As you work, you gain experience. And every hour of time that you work on a particular task that contributes to the competency of you as an architect, contributes to your experience you log that in a particular area.

I'm listing the top 5 reasons the AXP is failing architecture licensing candidate in that effort, and it's failing architecture firms too.

Among the 5 reasons the AXP is failing architect licensure candidates, Number 1 is the AXP is too general.

Rather than recording the individual tasks, we're recording areas. So candidates are logging hours for time for a particular area rather than a particular task.

The intention that NCARB writes in the AXP guidelines is,

“The AXP features 96 tasks spread across six experience areas. These tasks are critical areas of practice relating to ensuring the independent practicing architects are able to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public. So to complete the AXP, you must demonstrate competency in each of the 96 tasks.”

But that's not what's happening.

The knowledge and skill that comes from the repetition of each of those tasks gets generalized, and it's just a checking off the box.

You can make a difference by tracking the tasks. Supervisors helping candidates can make a difference by tracking tasks. How can you do that? The NCARB Competency Standard has 16 competencies, but there's bullet points under each one, so some of these AXP tasks fit under one bullet point, maybe not another bullet point. Ultimately, what we need to do is make sure each task points to a competency rather than an experience area.

The number 1 reason why the AXP is failing architect candidates is because it’s just too general. The areas are too general. We're not tracking tasks. We're tracking areas.

Instead, focus on the actual experiences that you're doing to get competent as an architect.