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Accreditation Policies and Procedures of the AVMA Council on Education (COE)


April 2012

13. Site Visit Agenda

The site team is responsible for verifying elements of the college self-study that focus on the professional education (DVM or equivalent), specifically addressing compliance of the college with the Standards of Accreditation.

The tour of the facilities must include all areas where all of the students are required to gather for learning (core sites) and all areas where all students in a specific track are required to gather for learning (core track sites). The full site team should visit all core sites if practical and either all of the site team or subcommittees of the site team may visit track sites. Any external site used for required clinical training in any discipline that is visited by at least 20 percent of the students over a two-year span SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR VISITATION FOR SOME OR ALL OF THE SITE TEAM.

The site team uses the meeting with various groups to validate information in the self-study report and to gather additional information relative to the Standards of Accreditation. While specific standards are the area of focus at a given meeting, any standard may be addressed at any meeting.

MEETING STANDARDS ADDRESSED GOAL OF MEETING
(for presentation to attendees before the site visit)
REQUIRED MEETINGS
Dean and selected administrators Organization, Finance To confirm governance structure in the school/college including effectiveness and flexibility; to clarify data in finance tables and discuss factors impacting financial viability of the school/college
Admissions Committee, Admission Officer, Outcome Officer(s) Admissions, Outcomes Assessment To clarify admissions processes as described in the Standard
Curriculum Committee, Outcome Officer(s) Curriculum, Outcomes Assessment To clarify curriculum, verify processes for ongoing curricular review
DVM Students Students, Curriculum, Admissions, Organization, Physical Facilities and Equipment, Clinical Resources To gather from the students their impressions/concerns regarding all aspects of their experience in veterinary school
Research Committee Research To document the adequacy of the research program and how DVM student learning is impacted by the research program
Post-graduate students, Interns and Residents Research, Students, Curriculum, Clinical Resources, Physical Facilities and Equipment To determine how post-graduate students and house officers interact with DVM students
Faculty Faculty, Physical Facilities and Equipment, Clinical Resources To clarify faculty employment as described in the Standard, and to gather impressions/concerns regarding the educational program
Confidential meetings with DVM students All Standards  
Confidential meetings with faculty All Standards  
Alumni All Standards To verify that career goals could be reached with the education provided by the school/college
Department Heads Faculty, Organization To determine coordination between faculty and administration and impact on the DVM students, faculty development process, adequacy of resources
Section leaders in VTH, "center" leaders Faculty, Organization To determine coordination between faculty and administration and impact on the DVM students, faculty development process, coverage of the veterinary curriculum
Exit interview with Dean    
Exit interview with University administration    
Section Chiefs Curriculum, Students, Faculty, Clinical Resources To gather information from mid-level administrators about functionality of the DVM program as a whole
Outcomes Officer(s) Outcomes Assessment How is information from outcomes transferred to the appropriate stakeholders – completing the loop
OPTIONAL MEETINGS
Technical staff in teaching hospital Physical Facilities and Equipment, Faculty To verify working conditions in the hospital, staff and faculty support of the DVM program, role of paraprofessionals in training and assessment of students
Library Library and Information Resources To question the librarian and library staff about factors beyond those captured during the tour, to see demonstrations of specific technologies

Meetings with students are scheduled for each site visit. The scheduled meeting with professional students should involve two or three representatives of each class, selected by their peers. The meeting with post-graduate students should include those students who interact with the DVM program either through teaching (usually laboratories) or through formal research opportunities for DVM students. The meeting with house officers should include both interns and residents, with representation from all clinical departments.

The meeting with faculty representatives should involve >1 (two or three) faculty members from each department or administrative unit. These should be individuals, other than department heads (administration), chosen as spokespersons by the faculty of that department AND SHOULD BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPARTMENT. The representatives meet as a group with the visiting team.

Alumni should reflect the career paths taken by the students; if a preponderance of students enter mixed animal practice upon graduation, for example, the alumni group should consist of a preponderance of mixed animal practitioners. The president of the alumni association and some alumni acting as adjunct faculty should be included if possible.

THE DEAN SHOULD OT EXPECT TO BE PRESENT AT MEETINGS UNLESS INDICATED ON THE AGENDA OR INVITED BY THE SITE TEAM CHAIR.

The agenda for the visit is established by the chair of the site visit team in consultation with the college administration. The example schedule is designed to address each Standard by meeting with groups that can provide the needed evidence of compliance. It is not necessary to visit all faculty members. The dean should use the following example as a guide to develop a proposed site visit schedule with the site team chair. The chair should work with the dean and offer suggestions (additions/deletions) to better serve the site team.

SUGGESTED SITE VISIT SCHEDULE
Day One
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Executive session for site team members
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Site team reception at college (administration, students, faculty, staff) overview of process and introduction of team members; poster session for student research
Day Two
Tour schedule should be planned by the school/college to minimize backtracking for each college campus layout (tour may be split over two half days)
8:00 am – 9:00 am Operational overview: Curricular delivery and facility orientation
  • Companion animal hospital
  • Large animal hospital, including ambulatory
  • Hospital support areas (e.g., pharmacy, clinical pathology, medical records, imaging, etc.)
  • Educational facilities
  • Areas where teaching animals are housed
  • Necropsy section
  • Research facilities (several typical laboratories)
  • Library
Luncheon
6:00 pm Dinner and site team executive session
Day Three
7:30 am – 8:30 am Breakfast conference with Dean and selected administrators
8:45 am – 9:45 am Conference with Associate Dean for Admissions and the Admissions Committee or Academic Affairs
9:45 am – 10:00 am BREAK
10:00 am – 12:00 Conference with Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Curriculum Committee
12:00 n – 1:30 pm Lunch conference with professional students
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm Conference with Associate Dean for Research, the Research Committee, and the University Veterinarian
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm Conference with teaching staff (technicians, instructors)
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Conference with interns, residents, and post-graduate students
3:15 pm – 5:00 pm Site team revisits areas of the school/college
6:00 pm Dinner and site team executive session (in hotel)
Day Four
8:00 am – 8:50 am Optional executive session with the Dean
9:00 am – 9:30 am Confidential meetings with individual students
9:30 am – 9:45 am BREAK
9:45 am – 10:15 am Confidential meetings with individual faculty
10:15 am – 11:15 am Conference with representative college faculty
11:15 am – 11:55 am Site team revisits
12:00 n – 1:00 pm Lunch conference with College of Veterinary Medicine alumni
1:05 pm – 2:05 pm Conference with department heads
2:05 pm – 2:15 pm BREAK
2:15 pm – 5:00 pm Executive session and site team revisits
6:00 pm Dinner and site team executive session
Day Five
8:00 am – 8:55 am Exit interview with college dean
9:30 am – 10:55 am Exit interview with university administration
Note: Outcomes will be assessed throughout the visit.

At the conclusion of the site visit the team holds exit interviews with the dean of the college, and with the chief executive officer of the institution to review its findings. The exit interview with the dean and college administrators of the dean's choosing, completes the site visitation of the college and precedes the exit interview with university administration. The exit interview with university administration normally involves the president of the institution and such other administrative officers as the president may choose. In the absence of the president, the team meets with his duly authorized representative. The dean is usually not present at the interview with the chief executive officer, but this option is available at the discretion of the SITE TEAM CHAIR.