New revisions approved for COE accreditation process

Schaumburg, Ill. — The American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) Executive Board revised three of its 11 policies governing veterinary education accreditation.

The first change applies to the standards the AVMA Council on Education (COE) has in place for reviewing physical facilities and equipment. Whereas on-campus veterinary teaching hospitals have been the most common way for veterinary students to gain hands-on experience, some schools, like the recently COE-accredited Western University, now are looking to off-campus facilities to fill that role.

The COE's revised policy, approved by the Executive Board at its April meeting, states that accredited colleges may now have a full-service on-campus hospital or a formal affiliation with one or more off-campus veterinary hospitals used for treatment. Other stipulations as to what is required of off-campus hospitals are included in the revised policy.

Another revision is a mandate that requires all colleges with both DVM and non-DVM undergraduate degree programs to differentiate between finances spent on each type of program. The aim of this revision is to help the COE evaluate a veterinary degree program's financial sustainability on his own, not in collaboration with other programs.

Lastly, the Executive Board approved a measure that requires schools not only to plan, supervise and monitor clinical experiences, as they had done in the past, but also to now begin reviewing those experience and assessing their educational outcomes. The revisions will help schools ensure students are getting the experience they need during clinical studies.