Texas Tech announces accreditation progress

Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine received a letter of reasonable assurance from the AVMA Council on Education regarding accreditation by the COE after undergoing a comprehensive site visit this past summer and a vote by council members during their virtual meeting Aug. 30-Sept. 1.

Leadership for the university and veterinary school announced the accreditation decision at a news conference Sept. 22. The COE decision will allow the veterinary school to begin accepting students. Its inaugural class will start in the fall of 2021. The veterinary school is designed to enroll 60 students per year to reach a desired enrollment of 240 students for the four-year program. Annual tuition and fees will total $22,000 for in-state students; out-of-state tuition and fees will total $32,800 per year. That said, the veterinary school plans to only accept Texas residents, but will consider filling 10% or fewer of its seats from a pool of New Mexico residents, said Dr. Guy Loneragan, dean of the veterinary school.

The program also would potentially include 150-200 graduate students who are not seeking a veterinary degree, as well as an academic staff of 90.

Dr. Loneragan said during the Sept. 22 news conference that the letter of reasonable assurance was the biggest academic milestone for the school to date.

“With this, the school of veterinary medicine is open for business,” he said. “By next week, hopefully, students can submit their application materials.”

Texas Tech’s model is to recruit and select students with a passion to practice and succeed in small and agricultural communities, according to a previous university press release, and use a curriculum focused on the competencies and skills necessary to be successful in practices that support these communities.

A letter of reasonable assurance is not a pre-accreditation action but indicates there is reasonable assurance of future accreditation if the program continues on the path outlined to the council and if the institution is able to demonstrate a realistic plan to comply with the COE standards of accreditation.

The Texas Legislature had considered establishing a second veterinary school in Texas—in addition to the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences—since 1971. But more recently, a reinvigorated approach spurred the project toward reality.

The university has raised more than $90 million from more than 30 individuals and foundations and the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. for the veterinary school’s infrastructure, according to the press release. The Texas Legislature approved $17.4 million in funds last year to start the program.

The 185,000-square-foot, two-story veterinary complex just north of the university’s campus in Amarillo, Texas, is on track and on budget, Dr. Loneragan said. Construction of the veterinary school buildings, which started this past September, is expected to cost $89.82 million.

The facility will have classrooms, student support services, faculty and staff offices, and teaching and research laboratories. Mariposa Station is a large animal facility that will house all large animal teaching laboratories. The veterinary college will have a hybrid distributive model, with students learning clinical skills both on campus and at 250 private and corporate veterinary practices throughout the Southwest.

“I am so proud that Amarillo is the home of the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine,” said Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson. “When you dream something, it is so fun when it becomes a reality. We invested, and now it is already investing in us, in the Texas Panhandle. I anticipate the economic benefits, the education opportunities.”