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Verification Visit

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Verification Evaluators

The following evaluators have volunteered to serve as verification evaluators.

Lawrence G. Gulotta, CKD - College of DuPage, Harper College, & Triton College
Lawrence (Larry) G. Gulotta, CKD has been teaching Interior Design and Kitchen and Bath Design since 1994 and has 30 years of combined teaching experience in higher education- both in interior design and kitchen and bath design. He is a part-time faculty member at three NKBA Accredited College programs and the Faculty Advisor for two NKBA student chapters. Gulotta is the current VP of Accredited Programs for the NKBA Chicago Midwest Chapter and is very active in the chapter and student activities. He earned his Associates of Applied Science in Interior Design from College of DuPage in 2004 and Bachelor of Art from DePaul University – pending. He has been an NKBA member since 1994 and became a Certified Kitchen Designer in 1996. Larry’s students continue to earn top awards in kitchen and bath competitions. With one of his students achieved 1st place in the 2006/07 NKBA Student Design Competition Kitchen category.

Wendy Harris, CKE, ASID - Brigham Young University – Idaho
Wendy Harris, CKE, ASID has twenty-eight years of teaching experience in higher education: full-time Interior Design faculty at Brigham Young University – Idaho for eighteen years; part-time Interior Design faculty at Northern Arizona University for ten years. She has been the kitchen and bath instructor and coordinator for BYU-Idaho’s NKBA accredited program since 1994. She also serves as the faculty advisor for both NKBA and ASID student chapters. Her students have achieved tremendous success in NKBA student design competitions, including winners in GE Dream Kitchen Design, Best by Broan, Lamps Plus, K+BB Student Essay, GE Charette, and the NKBA Student Design Competitions (both Kitchen and Bath categories).

Margaret Krohn, CKD, ASID – Century College
Margaret Krohn, CKD, ASID, is a full-time Kitchen and Bath Design instructor at Century College where she is responsible for developing and implementing design curriculum. She has a combined total of over 16 years of teaching in Interior Design and Kitchen and Bath Design and has worked in the commercial and residential design field. She also has her own design business. She is an NKBA member and has previously served as the VP of Communications on the MN Chapter. She received her Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Interior Design and Housing from Mankato State University and also earned her Architectural Drafting Technician Certification from the Minneapolis Drafting School. Margaret also teaches NKBA Professional CEU Online courses offered through Century College.

Phyllis Markussen, Ed.D., CKE, CBE - University of Nebraska
Dr. Phyllis Markussen, CKE, CBE is a professor and Department Chair of Interior Design at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She has been an NKBA member and coordinator for the NKBA accredited program since 1990. Dr. Markussen has received an NKBA merit award and was inducted into the NKBA Hall of Fame in 2004. Dr. Markussen has served on many NKBA national committees, boards, and advisory councils, including the Legislative Committee and Advisory Council of Designers. She is currently the Vice President of Accredited Colleges for the NKBA Nebraska/Kansas Chapter.

Kimberly Morrison, AKBD - Art Institute of York
Kimberly Morrison, AKBD, ASID, IIDA is currently an instructor at the Art Institute of York – Pennsylvania (formerly AI Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts, York, PA) where she is responsible for developing and implementing the schools curriculum to follow NKBA standards for supported/accredited program status. She is the NKBA Faculty Advisor for the NKBA Student Chapter. She received her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and received her Masters in Interior Architecture in May 2008. In November 2005, Ms. Morrison served as a member of DACUM where a new Kitchen & Bath Associates Program curriculum was written, which is now used in several schools (Art Institutes) in the country. Ms. Morrison has worked as kitchen and bath designer in Central Pennsylvania, been an NKBA member and received her AKBD certification in 2006.

Kathleen Parrott, Ph.D., CKE - Virginia Tech
Dr. Kathleen R. Parrott, CKE is a professor of Housing and Coordinator of the NKBA Accredited Program at Virginia Tech. She is a NKBA member, a Certified Educator and made the Keynote Address at the 2001 National Kitchen and Bath Association annual conference (co-presenter) “Someone’s in the Kitchen…”, highlighting research from the Virginia Tech Center for Real Life Kitchen Design. Dr. Parrott has written many articles for the kitchen and bath industry and for the housing and education profession and co-authored two of the NKBA Professional Library books, Kitchen Planning and Bath Planning. She received her PhD in Community and Human Resources; with a Minor in Housing from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Michelle C, Rose, CKE, CBE, ASID, IIDA, CAPS – University of Southern Mississippi
Michelle C. Rose, CKE, CBE, ASID, IIDA, CAPS is full-time interior design faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi. Michelle received her BS/MS in Interior Design from the University of Alabama in 1991/2001, and her Ed.S. in Instructional Technology from the University of Tennessee in 2005. She has presented and published several works in the scholarship of teaching and learning, with a focus on design writing and speaking, and new technology in design. As well, her students have continually won awards for their design projects, including the NKBA Excellence in Education Award. Michelle practiced in residential design and development, and retail marketing for over fourteen years. She is a member of NKBA, ASID, NAHB, and is an active board member of the Delta Regional IIDA Chapter, serving as the Mississippi City Center Co-Chair and Webmaster. Michelle chartered the NKBA Student Chapter at Southern Miss in 2007, and has served as the faculty advisor since that time.

Dawn Viola, CKE, CBE – Arapahoe Community College & Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online
Dawn Viola, CKE,CBE has been a faculty member and NKBA Coordinator for the accredited program at Arapahoe Community College since 2007 where she recently developed a certificate program in kitchen and bath design. Ms. Viola has been an online faculty member for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh since 2006 and is currently involved in their Kitchen and Bath Design program’s curriculum development. Her students continue to place in the annual NKBA student design competitions. Ms. Viola received a Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado in 2001 and a Master of Science in Construction Management with an emphasis in Historic Preservation from Colorado State University in 2002. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Argosy University with research interests including “Designing Modern Kitchens in Historic Homes.”

Arlynne Wolf, CKE - Century College
Arlynne Wolf, CKE has over 30 years of experience in higher education – both in interior design and kitchen and bath design. She previously taught at three of the NKBA accredited college programs. Ms. Wolf has greater than nine years of staff development work including train-the-trainer, curriculum, assessment and evaluation training, teaches six of the NKBA online courses currently being offered, the AKBD Prep School and the AKBD Online Review Course at Century College. Ms. Wolf is the current VP of Accredited Programs for the NKBA Minnesota Chapter and is very active in the chapter. She received a Master of Science in Management from Cardinal Stritch University in 1995.

To serve as evaluators educators must:

Be a member in good standing of the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
Be a full-time educator at a college or university program accredited by the Department of Education
Hold an NKBA certification designation as a AKBD, CKD, CKE, CBD, CBE, CMKBD, or CMKBE
Have developed curriculum
Participated in other accreditation site visits as the interviewer or interviewee
Adhere to the guiding principles to:
- provide competent evaluation to stakeholders
- ensure the honesty and integrity of the entire evaluation process.
- respect the security, dignity, and self-worth of the respondents, program participants, students, and other stakeholders with whom they interact.
- exhibit objectivity and open-mindedness
- work as part of team
Committed to the accreditation process and willing to devote the time necessary to participate in training and activities to enhance the accreditation process.
Willingness to devote the time necessary to participate in at least two site visits annually

Verification Visit Procedures

During the verification visit the Educational Institution seeking accreditation will:

Reserve a room that will provide a location for the team to meet, preferably capable of hosting the student work display, team faculty meeting, student interviews and all the materials necessary to review the program (see items under student work display and team faculty meeting). The NKBA Professional Resource Library and a laptop are to be in the room.
Prepare a display of student work and course information that are included in the certificate/degree that is seeking accreditation. General course studies are not to be displayed. The site visit team will be verifying that the terminology, concepts, and knowledge found in the NKBA Professional Resource Library have been included in your curriculum. The team will evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities stated on NKBA Form B – Part 1 as identified in the NKBA Role Delineations Study conducted in 2005 based on the evidence presented in the display. The following out-come illustrated verbs are used in Form B- Part 1 to describe desired results.

Definitions of outcome illustrated verbs:

The display is to be:
- Accessible to the team and permanent for the entire visit (the team will need at least 4 hours to review privately).
- Presented in chronological order from first course to last, with the information from each course grouped together and clearly identified.
- Represent all required courses in the certificate/degree seeking accreditation that were incorporated in the application packet, including courses that are taken in other departments.
- Actual work completed in courses found on Form B Part 1. The NKBA Body of Knowledge.
- Be current, from the past 3 years. Each project must be dated.
- Be arranged on vertical and/or horizontal surfaces or electronically, as appropriate or available. Electronic files must be accompanied by appropriate medium to review files.
Display items- Course Information: The following is to be displayed for each course that appears on Form B Part 2. Schedule of Courses
- Teaching Manual- A binder labeled with course name, and number that includes syllabus, course schedules, assignments, handouts, presentations, blank exams or tests, and any other learning inputs such as list of field trips, or guest speakers, except general studies.
- Required course texts and/or custom published documents prepared by the instructor (copies of any other reading assignments). It may also be helpful to site the relationship, page numbers/chapters of the information to the NKBA Professional Resource Library.
- Digital assignments/projects if applicable and instructions on accessing.
Display items- Student Work Example Outcomes: The following is to be displayed for each course that appears on Form B Part 1. The NKBA Body of Knowledge. Include two examples for each item/project. Examples should be produced by a variety of students; not just two students providing all of the examples for the entire curriculum.
- Including matrixes, bubble diagrams/schematics, needs surveys and more
- 2 and 3-D basic creative work
- Drafting, CAD, drawings, perspectives
- Design proposals
- Programming documents
- Details and working drawings
- Business documents
- Papers, completed exams, and/or a compilation of exam results for history, theory, etc.
- Any other examples of program outcomes that demonstrate achievement of the NKBA Body of Knowledge.
- Student work example outcomes should include at two examples for each item
Display items for multiple programs or online courses:
- Schools seeking accreditation for multiple programs, e.g. Certificate and Associate degree or traditional and online will display course information and student work sample outcomes for students studying at each type of program.
- In the event the course information is exactly the same for both program options, one Teaching Manual can be displayed; however, the school is required to display student work samples from both programs. These samples are to be clearly identified with the name of the program.
  - Arrange for a team faculty curriculum discussion meeting with presentations by the professors that teach the materials found in the NKBA Professional Resource Library and listed on Form B. (approximately 4 hours).
- Provide AV equipment for presentations to the students and administration
- Assist in travel arrangements of the NKBA national representatives
- Invite industry professionals, the NKBA Certified Faculty/Advisor, and the NKBA Chapter Officers to attend the luncheon and /or dinner, tour of facility and presentations by the NKBA and the administration (event is optional, but strongly encouraged).
- Prepare an agenda at least 6 months in advance to the verification visit date in collaboration with the NKBA headquarters and coordinate all activities. Each school has unique qualities and scheduling, so the day’s agenda is prepared by the school seeking accreditation. The site visit team will consist of a representative from the NKBA, a full-time educator that has obtained the NKBA Certification, and, when possible a local NKBA Certified Chapter Officer. Not all activities of the site visit need to be reviewed by the entire team. Since the team’s time is valuable, it is important to group activities that must be completed by the entire team together. A sample agenda is provided in this section.

Verification Visit Fees

The National Kitchen & Bath Association is responsible for the travel expenses of the site visit team. The host school is responsible for the site visit team's meals while accompanied by faculty members and the lunch/dinner event for NKBA officers. Beginning January 1, 2011, the association will collect a fee of $799 for travel expenses. The travel expense fee must be paid at least two months prior to visit.

Verification Visit Timeline

Application packet (must contain two copies of the application) is submitted to the NKBA (Request for a Verification Form may be included)
NKBA reviews application packet (collaborates with school on contents)
NKBA issues preliminary Supported Status and sends letter, certificate, and the Request for a Verification Visit form
At least nine months in advance of the requested date of site visit, the school returns the Request for a Verification Visit Form to NKBA, the form includes dates indicating when the kitchen & bath mastery courses will be taught and the anticipated date of student work samples submission.
NKBA confirms site evaluators, reviews travel schedules and issues a Confirmation Verification Letter.
6 months or more prior to confirmed site visit date, the school sends the agenda to NKBA, the tentative number of participants for the presentation to the students and the presentation to the administrators and an electronic copy of Form B - Part 1. The NKBA Body of Knowledge.
NKBA evaluates the agenda, confirms travel arrangements of site evaluators, and provides site evaluators contact information.
2 weeks prior to site visit NKBA sends package to school for presentations.