14.1. Public Member Authorization, Reimbursement, and Definition
These individuals participate as volunteers and are not eligible for honorariums, but may be reimbursed, when necessary, for transportation, food, lodging, and incidental expenses. When the nature of the team requires public representation, such representative shall fulfill all the duties of a team member and have the right to vote.
The Chair of the site visit team appoints a Vice Chair, and has the authority to dismiss any member of the team who has a conflict of interest or who becomes disruptive or unmanageable during any phase of the evaluation. Should a conflict of interest or disruption occur with the Chair, the Vice-Chair can assume leadership of the site team with unanimous consent of the remaining members of the team. If the conflict is identified during the site visit and is not covered by the Policies and Procedures Manual, neutral members of the team, plus an equal number of members from the college and appointed by the dean, will resolve the issue. If the issue is not resolved by the team, the person is dismissed by the Chair.
Two members of the site visit team represent the preclinical science areas, and two represent the clinical science areas to assure balance of expertise. The Chair of each such site visit team is a member of the Council. In addition to COE members, each site visit team includes two non-council members, one designated by the state veterinary medical association of the state in which the college is located, and a representative of the CVMA appointed and supported by that organization. No member is assigned to a site visit team until they have completed training and orientation.
An AVMA staff member will accompany each site team and assist in coordinating activities. Staff will consider how each of the standard requirements is being met by the college and note any points not covered in the self-evaluation report. If major deficiencies are found in the material presented, staff is requested to ask the college for supplemental material.
It is important that the college recognize that comments made during the site visit about the status of the program with respect to a specific standard, are in no way a final determination. During the exit interview, the Chair of the site visit team should emphasize that the comments made represent the majority view of the site visit team and will be considered as a recommendation by the full Council on Education. The final decision on the status of each standard and the accreditation status rests solely with the full COE.
The team votes on a classification of accreditation to be recommended to the Council.
The lunch period indicated on the third day may be used for meeting with any group such as the state veterinary medical association or major committees not scheduled elsewhere.
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 graduate students should include one or more representatives from each appropriate department.
The meeting with faculty representatives should involve one faculty member from each department or administrative unit. These should be individuals, other than department heads (administration), chosen as spokespersons by the faculty of that department. The representatives meet as a group with the visiting team.
The site team will be available to meet with students and faculty for confidential interviews, conducted in ten-minute increments. The Dean's office is responsible for announcing the time for such interviews, noting the location in an area remote from administrative offices. Interviews are conducted on a first-come, first-served basis until the time period has elapsed.
At colleges with very large departments, conferences with department heads often include heads of major sections.
The dean or the dean's representative is welcome to participate in any of the meetings except those with students and faculty representatives. The university administration may invite the dean to participate.
Each evening during the site visit the team meets and reviews the day's activities. The draft report of evaluation is updated and revised in light of new information gained during the day. All members of the team attend the evening meetings. On the last evening of the visit, development of the draft report is completed and recommendations agreed upon. Each recommendation must be based on information noted at the end of one of the sections of the report. Each commentary must be based on information contained in the "background" part of the section involved.
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 is a critical part of the site visit; therefore, all site team members will attend. 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. The Chair of the team is responsible for developing remarks for the exit interview. The
team assists in preparing the outline for these remarks, and each member comments on items concerning the sections of the report drafted by the respective member.
A member of the AVMA Executive Board, Dean of an AVMA-accredited veterinary medical college, or other individuals approved by the Council may accompany the site visit team as an observer.
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= AVMA/SAVMA Members Only
