The interior design college at the Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan continues to see an increase in enrollments following recent attempts at revitalizing the program.
The new program for the interior design school includes mandatory competitions for students, gaining support from an industry organization, and the addition of nearly seventy credit hours to offer an associate degree in interior design.
The interior design school is seeking full accreditation, something that requires support of an industry organization. The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), an industry organization that sets the standard in kitchen and bath design curriculum, seems to be the school’s ticket to full accreditation and is host to the mandatory competitions implemented in the new program.
NKBA competitions fulfill the new student curriculum requirements that include participation in a kitchen and bath design competition. Students must participate in at least one such contest each year during the course of their studies at the interior design school.
This particular portion of the program enhancement applies to a thirty-three credit hour program to receive a Certificate of Achievement in the Kitchen and Bath Design discipline. The certificate is required to obtain NKBA support for the interior design school.
“We need several students to fully complete the program as well as a site-visit from the NKBA before we become fully accredited. It is my hope that we will be fully accredited in the next two years,” said HFCC Program Coordinator Karen Wilmering, according to the school’s website.
The interior design school’s associate degree program was updated back in 2009, offering an advanced degree for students. This allows HFCC to meet the minimum criteria set forth by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). Though the school still lacks full accreditation, they are getting close to this status.
“We need several students to fully complete the program as well as site-visit from the NKBA before we become fully accredited. It is my hope that we will be fully accredited in the next two years,” Wilmington said according to HFCC’s blog.
