On August 18, the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD) granted Associate Member status to Farmingdale State College and the Visual Communications Department. NASAD accreditation helps to affirm quality-based standards, programmatic innovation, artistic and academic freedom, and the mobility of credits and credentials in art and design programs.

This milestone resulted after almost five years of work by the Department and the Department's NASAD Committee, a site visit by NASAD reviewers, and approvals by the College Administration, SUNY System, and the State Education Department. To achieve this designation, the Visual Communications Department's NASAD committee and full faculty worked diligently on the necessary paperwork and curriculum changes to convert the Graphic Design and Interaction Design programs from BT to BS degrees.

The intricacies of implementing the new BS programs will be ongoing over the next several years. Students will be accepted into these programs beginning in the Fall of 2021. As students begin to graduate from the new curriculums, the College may apply for final approval and full-member status. The next full curriculum review will take place in the 2025-2026 academic year.