HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (March 7, 2008) - The National Kitchen & Bath Association is pleased to announce that it will offer candidates taking its design exams the option of using the traditional paper and pencil hand drafting approach or using a modified CAD program, effective September 20, 2008. These candidates are testing to obtain NKBA certification status as a Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD), Certified Kitchen Educator (CKE), Certified Bath Designer (CBD) and/or Certified Bath Educator (CBE).

The new application form allows candidates to choose if they prefer hand drafting or CAD. If they choose CAD, they will be prompted to select the program they prefer. Initially, there are three choices: 20-20 Technologies, Autokitchen/AutoCAD and Fusion (formerly Planit's Fusion). In the future, other CAD options may be available.

The software provided for the NKBA exams by these companies is heavily modified. All automated features are disabled and no warnings appear when a designer violates an NKBA Guideline. There are also no automatic elevations. To avoid using renderings or perspectives to verify the accuracy of an elevation, these features are disabled. A candidate must demonstrate his or her proficiency by manually placing cabinets and appliances on the elevation in the same manner as a candidate using hand drafting. The result is that no candidate, whether taking the design exam via hand drafting or CAD, has an unfair advantage over another. Since the software is different from what candidates are used to working with, qualified registered candidates will be provided a copy of the test version of the software at no charge to practice for the exam.

This step forward is the result of more than a year's efforts by the Ad Hoc CAD Design Committee chaired by Ralph Lackner, CKD, CBD. The three companies chosen for the initial rollout are the most widely used, according to a recent NKBA survey. All three companies agreed to modify their software per the NKBA's requirements at no charge to the Association and they have also agreed to supply candidates with free test software. This software will be thoroughly tested by the NKBA and by CASTLE Worldwide, who administers NKBA exams, prior to the summer of 2008.

The NKBA is proud to provide this alternative to exam candidates. For more information, please contact NKBA Customer Service at (800) THE-NKBA or visit www.nkba.org.

About the National Kitchen & Bath Association

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) is a non-profit trade association that owns the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference (K/BIS®). With more than 42,000 members, the NKBA has educated and led the kitchen and bath industry for 45 years. The mission of the NKBA is to enhance member success and excellence, promote professionalism and ethical business practices and provide leadership and direction for the kitchen and bath industry. For more information, please visit the NKBA Press Room at www.nkba.org/press or call (800) THE-NKBA.