Fees for accreditation

The Architects Act 1997 places statutory responsibilities on ARB. We ensure only those who are suitably competent are allowed to practise as architects. We do this by approving the architecture qualifications required to join the Register of architects. We ‘prescribe’ or accredit qualifications that demonstrate the achievement of the required learning and practical experience. This means that only professionals with ARB-accredited qualifications (or who apply through one of our international routes to registration) can join the UK Register of Architects. 

In 2021, the government consulted on a number of reforms to ARB’s legislation, including the introduction of a new responsibility for ARB to monitor the way architects manage their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The government also consulted on changes which allow ARB to charge fees to cover the costs of specific regulatory activities. This power, which brought ARB into line with other professional regulatory bodies, meant that the costs of accreditation no longer have to be met by individual architects through the annual registration fee, but would be met by the universities who benefit from the accreditation of qualifications. 

Previously, legislation did not allow ARB to charge fees for accreditation to learning providers, and this meant that any costs associated with accreditation had to be made up through other fees ARB sets, such as the annual retention fee for registered architects. Changes to the Architects Act have enabled ARB to charge fees for the provision of certain services related to the fulfilment of our statutory duties, and these changes included allowing ARB to charge learning providers for accreditation on a cost recovery basis. This includes charging for the costs associated with ARB’s accreditation role. 

Legislation is clear that the amount charged must not exceed the reasonable costs of providing the service, and we will not use the fee to generate profit to fund other areas of work. 

The fees are set on a cost recovery basis and will be used to fund the accreditation work for which they’re being charged, carried out by ARB and the Accreditation Committee which operates independently from the Board. This work covers the consideration of new applications for accreditation, accreditation reviews, and requests for changes to existing qualifications. It includes the process of assessing data returns and the quality assurance process as a whole and organising tailored visits to institutions when needed.   

The fees are set on a cost recovery basis. While learning providers can vary in size, the work that ARB and the Accreditation Committee must do to be assured of the quality of a qualification does not vary significantly according to the size of a learning provider. We must follow the same processes and carry out the same checks for the smallest provider as we do for the largest.  

Where possible and appropriate, we have made the new schedule more proportionate by accounting for the number of qualifications a provider is delivering. Each accredited learning provider will be charged an annual fee of £6,500, and providers who offer multiple qualifications will be charged an additional 10% per accredited qualification. The 10% addition is based on a thorough analysis of the work we expect to undertake, which indicates that there will be some additional work required to gather and analyse data for providers with multiple qualifications. This would include reading examiner reports and assessing student data, including pass marks, attrition rates, and staffing ratios.  

The exact savings across years will depend on the learning provider and their composition of courses, although in the first year of operation, ARB will meet some of the costs from our reserves and efficiency savings. 

As part of the changes, ARB has carried out a detailed review of the original cost recovery model and we have revisited our original assumptions about the new accreditation model.  

While we continue to operate on the principle of cost recovery, we have considered it appropriate to be cautious in our assumptions about how costs should be passed on to providers during the transition to the new accreditation model. For the first year of the new fee schedule, ARB has elected to take a staged approach, to help providers to budget appropriately for future years. 

This will be funded from ARB’s reserves. Sufficient funds are available without impacting on a requirement we have with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (our sponsor government department) to hold four months’ worth of operating costs.  
  
The reduced fees are a temporary measure for the first year of the new model. ARB will however continue to investigate whether further efficiencies can be implemented and we will review our costs annually. 

The new framework for initial education and training has made possible the potential for new qualifications that will combine Academic and Practice Outcomes. As these types of qualifications don’t exist yet, we have not yet been able to calculate how much work will be required for the consideration of new applications and to monitor and review these courses once they are running.  

ARB has convened an Education Transition Reference Group to help inform how we transition to the new framework for initial education and training. We hope that this group will be able to input into our accreditation model and risk assessment which, in turn, will inform our costings model and the work that we will have to carry out in relation to combined courses. 

Under the new framework, in the future, ARB will no longer accredit courses based on the old model of Parts 1, 2 and 3. Instead, ARB will accredit courses offered by providers that meet the Standards for Learning Providers and associated measures, including delivering the Academic and Practice Outcomes needed to join the Register. 

Under the current timeline for implementation of the new framework, existing Part 1 courses will continue to be accredited until December 2027. ARB will continue to monitor existing qualifications on a proportionate risk basis, with the new Accreditation Committee making decisions related to continued prescription and any associated conditions imposed. The costs of this work still have to be covered.  

ARB expects the learning outcomes of all qualifications to change in order to deliver the new Outcomes and remain accredited. Even if a provider’s internal processes suggest a major course change, this may not mean that a new qualification application and fee is required for ARB.  

Where a provider is looking to make like-for-like changes (for example, by revising a two-year Part 2 to become a two-year master’s-level qualification), a staggered approach will be taken. Through this transition route, providers will need to demonstrate compliance with the Outcomes and Standards over a two- to three-year period through a combination of a transition change application and submissions alongside forthcoming annual monitoring returns. 

Changes considered through this transition route will not be classed as new qualifications and will not incur a new qualification application fee. 

Factors that may indicate that a new qualification application (to be submitted at least two years prior to commencement) and fee will be required include: 

• The introduction of a new master’s-level qualification 
• The introduction of a dual award qualification where a single award qualification was previously accredited 
• The introduction of master’s-level or practice qualifications where Part 2 and/or Part 3 were not previously held 
• The introduction of new qualifications in addition to any being considered through the transition change process 
• Changes to the length of course, for example applications for a course integrating the Level 6 and Level 7 master’s course which changes the duration (e.g. from a five year to four year course) 

The list above is not exhaustive. A pragmatic view will be taken of the nature of proposed changes to each qualification and whether they can be considered under the transition route or the new qualification application route. 

Learning providers should contact ARB as early as possible (qualifications@arb.org.uk) to discuss any planned changes and the most appropriate application process(es) in advance of internal approval and any submission to ARB. 

ARB will review our costs and fees annually. The fees are set on a cost recovery basis, meaning that the fee schedule will be revised if or when our costs change. We will also be publishing details annually relating to the costs of delivering accreditation of qualifications. 

The fee schedule is based on the principle of cost recovery and covers the costs of carrying out the specific work we must do to be assured of the quality of any qualifications we accredit. We have carried out desktop research to benchmark our costs and there is significant variation in relation to the governing legislation of other bodies, how they calculate costs and their quality assurance methodologies. We will publish information about our accreditation costs on an annual basis to support transparency.