Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-30-204 - Examinations

A. Board Review For Authorization to Test: Applicants who wish to sit for professional examination who do not possess an educational degree recognized by the applicable national council shall submit to the Board the following information

for approval:

1. Name, residence address, mailing address if different from residence, and telephone number;

2. Date of birth and Social Security number;

3. Proof of citizenship or legal residence;

4. Category, and branch of engineering if applicable;

5. Name, mailing address, years attended, graduation date, major, and type of degree received from each college, university, or educational institution attended;

6. Certified transcripts sent directly to the Board from the registrar of each college, university, or educational institution attended;

7. Evidence of at least 60 months of required education or experience, or both, in the category for which registration is sought.

a. The name, current address, and telephone number of the applicant's current and former employers in the category for which registration is sought;

b. Dates of employment;

c. Applicant's title;

d. Description of work performed; and

e. Number of hours worked per week;

8. Names and current addresses of applicant's current and former employers (the names of companies within the last ten year period) in the category for which registration is sought. If an applicant cannot supply the names and addresses of supervisors for at least three engagements, the applicant shall provide to the Board a written, sworn statement explaining the inability to provide this information, and the names and addresses of three additional references, unrelated to the applicant, at least two of whom are registered in the category for which registration is sought;

9. A release authorizing the Board to investigate the applicant's education and experience;

10. Certificate of Experience Report from the applicant's present and past immediate supervisors. The applicant shall also provide Certificate of Experience Record and Reference Forms from additional professional references as required by the Board. The applicant shall provide the name, address, and telephone numbers of all references. The applicant shall ensure that the Board receives these Reports directly from the reference;

11. Evidence of successful completion, or waiver by the Board, of the applicable fundamentals examination. An applicant who has successfully completed a fundamentals examination in another state or jurisdiction in the category for which registration is sought equivalent to the examination for that category administered in Arizona shall submit proof of examination directly from the authority that administered the original examination. An applicant seeking professional registration as an engineer, geologist, or land surveyor shall pass the applicable fundamentals examination before admission to the professional examination. An applicant for registration as a geologist may take the in-training examination on the same date as the professional examination;

12. Certification that the information provided to the Board is accurate, true, and complete; and

13. The applicable fees.

14. In addition to the above requirements, an applicant who does not possess education required for direct access to the NCARB Architect Registration Examination (ARE) shall provide the Board with 60 months of a diversity of experience directly related to the practice of architecture and of a character satisfactory to the Board, in each of the following categories, in order to obtain Board authorization to sit for the required registration examination:

a. Practice Management. The experience obtained in this category shall demonstrate abilities to manage architectural practice, including professional ethics, fiduciary responsibilities, and the regulations governing the practice of architecture. The experience obtained shall focus on issues related to pre-contract tasks including negotiation, human resource management, and consultant development. Applicants shall demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in business structure, business development, and asset development and protection.

b. Project Management. The experience obtained in this category shall demonstrate abilities to manage architectural projects, including organizing principles, contract management, and consultant management. The experience shall focus on issues related to office standards, development of project teams, and overall project control of client, fee, and risk management. Experience shall demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in quality control, project team configuration, and project scheduling. In addition, the experience shall demonstrate the ability to establish and deliver project services per contractual requirements in collaboration with consultants.

c. Programming and Analysis. The experience obtained in this category shall demonstrate abilities related to the evaluation of project requirements, constraints, and opportunities. The experience shall focus on issues related to programming, site analysis, and zoning and code requirements and demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in project type analysis, the establishment of qualitative and quantitative project requirements, evaluation of project site and context, and assessment of economic issues.

d. Project Planning and Design. The experience obtained in this category shall demonstrate abilities to assess objectives related to the preliminary design of sites and buildings. The experience shall focus on issues related to the generation or evaluation of design alternatives that synthesize environmental, cultural, behavioral, technical and economic issues. The experience shall demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in design concepts, sustainability/environmental design, universal design, and other forms of governing codes and regulations.

e. Project Development and Documentation. The experience obtained in this category shall demonstrate objectives related to the integration and documentation of building systems, material selection, and material assemblies into a project. The experience shall focus on issues related to the development of design concepts, evaluation of materials and technologies, selection of appropriate construction techniques, and appropriate construction documentation. The experience shall demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in integration of civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and specialty systems into overall project design and documentation.

f. Construction and Evaluation. The experience obtained in this category shall demonstrate objectives related to construction contract administration and post-occupancy evaluation of projects. The experience shall focus on issues related to bidding and negotiation processes, support of the construction process, and evaluation of completed projects. The experience shall demonstrate an understanding of and abilities in construction contract execution, construction support services (including construction observation and shop drawing or submittal review), payment request processing, and project closeout. In addition, candidates shall also demonstrate an understanding and abilities in project evaluation of integrated building systems and their performance.

B. The Board staff shall review all applications and, if necessary, refer completed applications to an evaluator who meets qualifications approved by the Board for evaluation. If the application for examination is complete and in the proper form and the Board staff or the evaluator is satisfied that all statements on the application are true and that the applicant is eligible to take the examination, the Board staff or evaluator shall recommend that the Board certify the applicant as eligible to take the examination. If for any reason the Board staff or evaluator is not satisfied that all of the statements on the application are true or that the applicant is eligible in all respects for examination, the Board staff shall make a further investigation of the applicant.

C. National Council Examinations:

1. Applicants for architect, landscape architect, engineer, or land surveyor registration who wish to sit for a professional examination, and who have earned an educational degree recognized by the applicable national council, may apply directly to the applicable national council to take that exam.

2. Applicants not possessing the appropriate degree pursuant to subsection (C)(1) may apply to the Board for examination approval and after Board review, the Board may recommend them to the applicable national council for entry into the applicable national examination. Applicants shall meet all national council requirements for successful completion of applicable examinations.

3. An applicant for professional examination in any category shall take and pass the examination or at least one division of a multi-divisional examination within one year after receiving approval. If an applicant fails to take and pass an examination within one year after receiving approval, the applicant shall submit a new application for professional examination authorization to the Board.

4. An applicant who has failed any division of a national multi-divisional examination shall be required to meet the applicable national council's requirements for successful completion of the examination.

5. Examinations administered by a national council of which the Board is a member, or a professional association approved by the Board, shall be given at the times and places determined by the testing agency. Once approved to sit for a non-Board-administered examination, the applicant shall communicate all questions and concerns regarding extensions, additional time, special accommodation, reexamination, exam review and refunds to the applicable testing agency. The Board shall not refund any examination fee paid to a testing agency.

6. The Board shall close an examination authorization file for multi-divisional national examination if the applicant fails to pass all divisions of the applicable examination within five years after first passing any division of the examination unless the Board approves an extension.

D. Board Administered Examinations:

1. An examination administered by the Board shall be given at the times and places determined by the Board. Once the Board approves an applicant to sit for a Board-administered examination, shall take and pass the examination within one year from making the request to test unless the Board grants an extension. The applicant shall communicate all questions and concerns regarding extensions, special accommodations and refunds to the Board. The applicant shall make any request for additional time or other special examination accommodation to the Board within a reasonable time before the examination date.

2. An applicant who fails to achieve a passing grade on any examination administered by the Board may request reexamination by notifying the Board in writing of the applicant's desire to retake the examination and paying the applicable examination fee. An applicant who retakes any examination shall advise the Board of any changes in the information provided under subsection (A) of this Section and R4-30-202(B) within 30 days from the date of the change. The Board shall close an applicant's file if the Board does not receive written confirmation from the applicant of the applicant's desire to retake and pass the Board-administered examination within one year from the request for reexamination. An applicant whose file has been closed and who later wishes to apply for examination shall submit a new examination application package to the Board.

3. An applicant for a Board-administered examination who wishes to review the applicant's examination scores shall file a written request with the Board within 30 days after receiving notification of the failing grade. The applicant may review an examination by making prior arrangements with the staff and paying the applicable fee. The applicant shall complete any review within 60 days of the request for a review. In reviewing multiple choice questions, an applicant may review only those questions that were incorrect.

4. An applicant who desires a regrade of a Board administered examination shall file a written request with the Board within 30 days after receiving notification of the failing grade or within 30 days after reviewing the examination, whichever is applicable, and pay the applicable fee. The applicant shall identify the questions to be reviewed. The applicant shall state why a review of the item is justified. The applicant shall provide specific facts, data, and references to support any assertion that the solution deserves more credit. The Board shall determine whether it will regrade the examination.

5. The Board shall close an application file for examination if the applicant fails to pass all divisions of the applicable examination within five years after first passing any division of the examination unless the Board approves an extension.

6. If an applicant for professional examination fails to take the examination within five years from the examination approval date, the Board shall close the application file. The applicant shall submit a new application to take the applicable examination to the Board.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-30-204

Adopted effective August 3, 1983 (Supp. 83-4). Amended effective December 18, 1991 (Supp. 91-4). Amended effective May 1, 1995 (Supp. 95-2). Amended effective November 10, 1998 (Supp. 98-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 10 A.A.R. 2798, effective August 7, 2004 (Supp. 04-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 3294, effective October 1, 2005 (Supp. 05-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 128, effective March 10, 2013 (Supp. 13-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 24 A.A.R. 1785, effective 8/5/2018.