Veterinary accreditors going paperless

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The accrediting bodies for veterinary colleges and veterinary technology programs got the green light for a new accreditation management software system. The AVMA Council on Education and the Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities say the electronic system will streamline the accreditation process and allow for more effective use of staff’s talents. The AVMA Board of Directors approved the recommendation April 7.


The online platform will allow veterinary colleges and veterinary technology programs to submit their self-studies and annual reports electronically. The software also better allows the COE and CVTEA—via individual portals—to keep track of and review the various institutions’ reports, conduct site visits, and compose reports of evaluation. Plus, it “makes it possible to analyze data from every aspect of the process, perform trends analyses, and make evidence-based decisions to ensure continuous improvement,” according to the recommendation background.

Dr. Karen Martens Brandt, director of the AVMA Education and Research Division and staff consultant to the COE, told the Board, “The veterinary colleges want this kind of evidence, and it’s all done by hand right now.”

The quality assurance requirements and accompanying evidence needed by the COE to satisfy recognition requirements of the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation would also be streamlined via this system, according to the background.

The AVMA Enterprise Accreditation Management System is expected to roll out within 18 months. The plan is to implement the first phase of the project by the spring 2018 COE and CVTEA meetings and achieve full implementation of the system by the end of 2018.

The cost estimate for the software from Armature Solutions is nearly $293,295 for 2017 and $236,751 for the following year. The cost then tapers off to around $43,000 annually.