NewSchool of Architecture & Design (NewSchool,NSAD ) is a private for-profit college in San Diego that focuses on architecture and design. It is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).
NewSchool comprises two schools: The School of Architecture and Construction Management houses the undergraduate and graduate architecture and construction management programs while the School of Design at NewSchool offers undergraduate design degrees. The school is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and offers Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Master of Architecture (M.Arch).
NewSchool is owned by Ambow Education Holding of the Cayman Islands and Beijing, People's Republic of China.
History
Richard P. Welsh founded NewSchool of Architecture in 1980. The school was originally located in Chula Vista, California. In 1988, NewSchool relocated to downtown San Diego. A year later, Bislin Education Corp. (a subsidiary of Futures in Education, Inc.) acquired NewSchool. In 2001, ForeFront Education, Inc., acquired the school and changed its name to NewSchool of Architecture & Design. NewSchool was primarily focused on architecture and construction management undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Growth
In 2008 Laureate Education acquired NewSchool. Laureate's global network of design schools helped form a collaboration between NewSchool and Domus Academy School of Design in Milan, Italy. The collaboration lead to the creation of the Domus Academy School of Design at NewSchool which introduced several new design degrees including Interior Architecture & Design, Product Design, Design Studies and Media Design.
In 2014, NewSchool was granted regional accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, (WASC) Senior College and University Commission (SCUC).
In 2016, the schools partnered to launch a Global Design degree where students study two years in Milan and two years in San Diego. In the same year, Marvin J. Malecha, FAIA, DPACSA, became President and Chief Academic Officer. Malecha was a fellow in the American Institute of Architects, where he served as national president in 2009. Marvin Malecha passed away in May 2020.
In 2020, the NewSchool Board of Directors appointed Denise DeZolt, Ph.D. as the Interim President & Chief Academic Officer of NewSchool of Architecture & Design. In the first quarter of 2020, the NewSchool Board of Directors and its parent Laureate Education, Inc. agreed to the transfer of ownership of NewSchool to Ambow NSAD, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Ambow Education Holding, Ltd. of the Cayman Islands and Beijing, People's Republic of China. Later that year, the NewSchool Board of Directors appointed Dr. Tom Clawson, former Chair of the NewSchool Board of Directors, as Interim President & Chief Academic Officer of NSAD.
Decline
Since 2020 NewSchool has gone through one president and four interim presidents. In 2022, NSAD received a Notice of Concern letter from WASC, its accreditor. According to the letter, the accreditor had concerns about the school's finances, leadership, and dwindling enrollment. The school is on Heightened Cash Monitoring by the US Department of Education.