Changes to Accreditation Standards, March 2019

​The Council on Education annually reviews three to four standards in depth to ensure that the Standards of Accreditation meet the needs of the profession, students enrolled in colleges offering veterinary medical educational programs, and society. The Council recently reviewed, Standard 3-Physical Facilities and Equipment, Standard 4-Clinical Resources, Standard 5-Information Resources, and Standard 6-Students. After an extensive reivew including consideration of comments received during a period of public comments the Council on Education made revisions to:

Standard 3, Physical Facilities and Equipment

Standard 4, Clinical Resources

Rationale for revision of Standard 3

Recognizing a greater reliance on distributive models, the standard has been broadened to be more inclusive of distributive teaching and training sites. Core teaching sites should meet the same standards, whether on campus or off. The P&P does specify the requirements of distributive sites, but we believe it should be clearly stated in the Standard and Self-study requirements.

The Coiuncil also listed items to be included in the self-study to assist the Council in assessing compliance with the revised Standards.

Rationale for revision of Standard 4

In distribted model, there is need to identify and establish private practice cooperators and also to monitor them reguarly. Focus on the need to enumerate calls, animals, and experiences with student involvement. Particularly important with distributed systems.

Use of medical records should be addressed. While a given facility may not be required to maintain their records electronically, students should be exposed to electronic medical records during their training. When a school has been cited for this as a deficit, it has traditionally been described under standard 4, not under standard 9 (Curriclum).
The Council also listed items to be included in the self-study to assist the Council in assessing compliance with the revised Standards.