ARE Success Teams!

These fast-paced study groups are designed for you to have a team that studies and takes a test every six weeks. New teams form once a year in June and study together for an entire year. Each team will be comprised of individuals who will work together to develop a schedule and exam-taking sequence. AIA Dallas will provide study guides and access to preparatory workshops.

Why we provide study groups?

• To provide structure for taking – and ultimately completing – the A.R.E. process
• To provide dedicated study time as a team to enhance the learning process
• To allow for study materials readily available and inexpensive for candidates to access
• To create a supportive environment made up of and for those on the road to licensure

Why this year is different?

• ARE Lecture Series are included in registration cost.
• “Rendezvous” re-group meetings every 6 weeks where we will switch up study materials and discuss how the individual groups are structuring their time. This will provide a platform to help teams that may be struggling and make sure motivation is not lost due to lack of structure.
• New Materials!!! Ballast provided along with Kaplan study guides.
• 2 week break over Christmas and New Years.
• End of Success Teams party to wrap up session and recognize those that have passed all their tests.

Are you committed in becoming Licensed Architect? Are you looking for inspiration and support of your peers? Then this program is for you!

For more information, please register to attend our free Information Session on Monday. May 2nd at 6:30 pm at the Dallas Center for Architecture. http://aiadallas.org/cde.cfm?event=349077


The next season of Dallas ARE Success Team study groups will kick-off on Monday, June 13th at 6:30 pm at the Dallas Center for Architecture. Register on-line at http://www.aiadallas.org/cde.cfm?event=351981


Mara Salas, Assoc. AIA
Architectural Intern, Corgan Associates
AIA Dallas Committee Member

What does it take to become registered in Texas?

You may or may not know it, but you can become registered in Texas without a professional degree in architecture… at least for the next five months that is. The Texas board of Architectural Examiners (TBAE) changed the rules to require a professional degree back in 1999, but for those of us who began our career before then, we were grandfathered in and can still become registered. I am currently testing under this rule so according to TBAE, I am safe. But for all of those out there who have not begun your record, you will soon lose that right. If you have not contacted and obtained a registration number by August 31, 2011, you will have to go back to school to become a licensed Architect in the state of Texas. Did I say “go back to school”? That’s right! According to this month’s edition of Licensing News, the Board adopted new rules in their January 2011 meeting that “restrict the ‘grandfather’ provisions for architects to those who apply on or before August 31, 2011”. This means you are only “grandfathered” in if you have a TBAE record by this date. It goes on to say that on the following day (September 1st) these provisions will be repealed and “no one will be eligible for registration under those previous provisions”.

You may be thinking to yourself, I started school after 1999 so this doesn’t apply to me. You are right, but it does apply to all those folks who went to architecture school “back in the day” and have just never gotten around to getting registered. We all know at least one person that falls under this category and unless they subscribe to Licensing News, they won’t find out until it’s too late. According to this, if they don’t take action now, their “one day” will never come. This also affects those that may be seeking their initial registration in another state (yes, I know some of you think you are being sneaky), after this date you won’t be granted reciprocity in the state of Texas either. So, spread the word to all those old fogies (I can say that because I started in 1999) and let them know that they need to get in gear. Or as one person told me, “don’t tell them, it’ll mean less competition for us”. Whatever you do is up to you, but don’t say I didn’t tell you so!


To read the entire story in Licensing News, visit the below link:
http://www.tbae.state.tx.us/documents/April2011LicensingNews_000.pdf

To open an account with TBAE, visit the link below:
https://secure.tbae.state.tx.us/newaccount.aspx





Kimberly Cundiff, Assoc. AIA
Design Development Manager, Brinker International
2011 Assoc. Co-Chair, AIA Dallas

Associates Grassroots

As one of the Co-Chairs for the AIA Dallas Associates Committee, I was lucky to be able to attend the 2011 Intern Grassroots conference in Austin this past weekend. It was really beneficial to meet other associate directors from across Texas and see what they are doing to better engage their members. While everyone agrees that it’s easier to get people to show up if there’s alcohol and pizza involved, they also all show a genuine desire to help the interns in their area. From design competitions involving napkin sketches, construction documents and portfolios to mentorship programs that engage future architects as early as elementary school, Texas associate members are getting it done.

There were guest speakers including Yvonne Castillo, Gayle Pickering and Gary Dunn. Yvonne is the General Counsel for TSA and spoke to us about the importance of staying informed with the bills currently in the state legislature. There are currently 330 bills being tracked by the TSA that include the revisions to the Practice Act of 1990 which states that you can’t do architecture without an architecture degree and proposed changes to the Qualification Based Selection (QBS) that is currently in place for public projects. If you would like to become more involved or learn more about the current bills, you can do so on the TSA’s website, http://www.texasarchitect.org/.

Gayle Pickering, the Senior Director of Conventions for TSA, spoke to us about the TSA Convention which will be held here in Dallas on October 27-29. She wanted to make sure we were all aware that Friday during the convention is “Intern Day” where all associate members can attend the Expo for free. Since it is up to us this year to ensure everyone attends, we will be publicizing this date and contacting firms in the area to get them to allow their interns to attend without having to use personal or vacation time. The Expo will be at the Dallas Convention Center so it will be easy to get there by jumping aboard the DART rail. There will also be an Emerging Professionals event geared towards Associates and Interns that will be held on Friday evening. This event is still in the works so we will be sure to provide more information closer to the date.

Gary Dunn is the Texas State IDP Coordinator and spoke to us about the Intern Development Program (IDP), NCARB and the Texas requirements for registration. If you are currently working on your IDP or are interested in learning more about any of these topics, Gary will be in Dallas on May 25th for one on one meetings and to present recent changes to the IDP and the ARE and what to expect in the future. This event will be free for AIA Associate members. Registration will be available on the associates page at http://www.aiadallas.org/ within the month so be sure to check back often.


We also took some time to discuss the issues that are currently facing associates and interns and what we can do to help. There has been a lot of discussion on the National Associates Committee forum about why it is important to be an AIA member and how associates benefit from this membership. While this topic is a whole other blog entry for some other time, I do want to let our members know that we are working to provide more benefits and value with your membership. We are looking to add more “professional” development seminars in addition to our educational seminars that are geared towards the ARE. We are joining forces with the Young Architects Forum to provide portfolio and resume how-to workshops as well as portfolio speed review events where you can get feedback on your current portfolio. We will also have a competition and exhibit at the TSA convention this year showcasing the diverse talents of our associate members. We want to provide as many resources as we can to help our members get informed, get educated, get involved and (most importantly) get a job!

Kimberly Cundiff, Assoc. AIA
Design Development Manager, Brinker International
2011 Assoc. Co-Chair, AIA Dallas