An Overview of Accreditation Requirements

1. An Overview of Accreditation Requirements Norm Williamson Chair VSAAC

2. Introduction to Accreditation Legislative • Veterinary Boards in Australia and New Zealand accredit veterinary schools to ensure graduates are of an acceptable standard to be registered to practice in their state, territory or country • The Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) consists of members who represent all registering authorities in Australia and New Zealand • The AVBC makes accreditation decisions on veterinary schools based on advice from the Veterinary Schools Accreditation Advisory Committee (VSAAC) • Accreditation decisions are made based on the votes of the member Boards

3. Accreditation Requirements • Each Australasian veterinary school must be accredited at least once every 7 years • Visiting accreditation team members are recommended to AVBC by VSAAC based on their • Experience • Field of work • Skills • Other attributes, e.g. gender, representation of Veterinary Association etc. • Schools must meet the 12 standards required of an accredited school to ensure they will adequately educate graduates • AVBC cooperates with the RCVS in accreditation of schools

4. AVBC Accreditation Standards Cover • Organisation • Finances • Facilities and Equipment • Library and Learning Resources • Animals and Related Resources • Admission and Students • Curriculum • Clinical Resources and Clinical Learning and Teaching • Academic and Support Staff • Postgraduate Training and Continuing Education • Research • Outcomes Assessment

5. What are the Accreditation Challenges for Teachers of Ruminant Health and Production?

6. Accreditation Requirements • Schools are required to submit a self-evaluation report • It should provide an honest evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the school in relation to the 12 standards • The report should be 50 or less pages • Up to 50 pages of supplementary information may be provided • Also requested for the visiting team to review are - • A curriculum digest • A timetable for each course year • A summary of major changes since the previous visit • A list of academic and support staff, their affiliations, qualifications and roles in teaching

7. Evaluating Schools Against Standards • There is a statement for each standard that outlines standard-specific requirements • Information from the self-evaluation report and supplements is evaluated against each standard • The school visit allows confirmation of the self-evaluation report, inspection of facilities and input from school and university staff in relation to the standards • The visiting team gathers information on whether standards are being met and documents any deficiencies

8. Which standards are you interested in discussing as (a herd/flock of) ruminant health and production teachers?

9. AVBC Accreditation Standards • Organisation • Finances • Facilities and Equipment • Library and Learning Resources • Animals and Related Resources • Admission and Students • Curriculum • Clinical Resources and Clinical Learning and Teaching • Academic and Support Staff • Postgraduate Training and Continuing Education • Research • Outcomes Assessment

10. Standard 1. Organisation • Schools must be major divisions of a higher education provider Or • Have legal recognition by the jurisdiction where it is located • Schools should have the same recognition status as other professional programs in the institution it resides in • Schools must have autonomy to obtain and direct resources to achieve the school’s mission • There must be a clear and direct line of responsibility for delivery and resourcing of the curriculum

11. Standard 1. Organisation • The “Dean” must be a locally registered veterinarian • Hospital staff responsible for professional, ethical, and academic conduct of the school's clinical teaching hospital(s) must be locally registered veterinarians • A university veterinarian must have oversight of contracted clinical teaching practices in a distributed core teaching situation • There must be sufficient administrative staff to manage the schools student numbers and operation

12. Standard 2: Finances • Finances must be adequate to sustain the educational programs and implement the veterinary school's mission • The school and university must provide AVBC with reasonable assurance that finances are secure for the accreditation period • Financial resources must be available and allocated to acquire and maintain necessary buildings and equipment

13. Standard 2: Finances • Clinical services, field services and teaching hospitals, whether owned by the school or an outside provider, must function as instructional resources • The essential requirement for clinical instruction must be balanced against the need for financial self-sufficiency of clinical and teaching services in a commercial environment

14. Standard 3: Facilities and Equipment • The physical facilities must provide an environment conducive to learning. • Lecture theatres, teaching laboratories, tutorial rooms, clinical facilities and other teaching spaces should be adequate in number, size and equipment for the instructional purposes • Facilities and equipment should be appropriately maintained

15. Standard 3: Facilities and Equipment • Student facilities should include adequate study, recreation, locker and food services areas • Staff members' offices and research laboratories must be sufficient for the needs of the academic and support staff • Health and safety standards must be compliant with jurisdictional legislation or if none, the minimum standards are the requirements of good laboratory practice

16. Standard 3: Facilities and Equipment • Each veterinary school must maintain or be formally associated with veterinary hospitals that provide best practice veterinary medicine and surgery • External teaching resources require a formal association demonstrated by a 'letter of agreement' 'memorandum of understanding' or 'contract'

17. Standard 3: Facilities and Equipment • Appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, including but not limited to: pharmacy, diagnostic imaging, clinical pathology, isolation, intensive/critical care, surgeries and treatment facilities, ambulatory services and necropsy facilities must be provided • Operational policies and procedures must be documented and provided to staff and students, and posted in the most appropriate places for staff and students

18. Standard 3: Facilities and Equipment • Facilities for housing animals used in teaching and research must be sufficient in number and appropriately designed and maintained to be compliant with the NH&MRC Code in Australia, or be consistent with best practice animal welfare standards in jurisdictions where this code does not apply. • The veterinary school must have a clear strategy and program for maintaining and upgrading its buildings and equipment and provide evidence of support from the university

19. Standard 3: Facilities and Equipment Required reports for this standard are on – • The number of hospitalisation places for cattle and small ruminants

20. Standard 4: Library and Learning Resources • Adequate library, electronic media and related information services must be available to support the school's objectives and lend support to undergraduate education, research, postgraduate studies and continuing education programs • There must be an adequate collection of, or timely access to, appropriate instructional and research materials for each subject, including books, periodicals, specimens, and non-print media, supplemented with electronic reference materials and retrieval systems • Students and staff must have access to adequate computer hardware, information technology support services, software and electronic media, to support the undergraduate education program • These resources must be shown to be used effectively in the curriculum for the development of learning

21. Standard 5: Animals and Related Resources • Institutions must demonstrate that students have supervised, intramural exposure to the major production and companion animal species relevant to veterinary professional activities in Australia and New Zealand • The institution must ensure that students have access to normal animals of the major domestic species and become competent in their handling and knowledge of their husbandry and behaviourearly in the curriculum • Cattle and sheep are specifically mentioned

22. Standard 5: Animals and Related Resources • It is preferable for veterinary schools to maintain herds or flocks of teaching animals of at least the main production and companion large animal species (cattle, sheep and horses) on premises attached to the school or the parent institution, or an affiliated institution. • Evidence should be provided that extramural farm practical work experience enables students to have a comprehensive understanding of livestock and farm systems and that the experience enhances intramural livestock handling expertise

23. Standard 5: Animals and Related Resources • Schools must demonstrate that they have procedures in place for the effective assessment of students' competence in animal handling, before students commence clinical work • Normal and diseased animals of various domestic and exotic species including live animals and cadavers must be available for teaching for developing pre-clinical and clinical skills • Animal handling facilities must be well-built, maintained and designed, for the safety of students, staff and animals

24. Standard 5: Animals and Related Resources • The institution must ensure that students have access to an adequate supply of teaching material of animal origin to enable them to develop the necessary expertise in necropsy, food hygiene and veterinary public health • The institutions' livestock facilities and equipment should be contemporary and promote best husbandry, welfare and management practices, and be compliant with the national standards. It is expected the standards of the animal facilities are comparable with the highest standards in the private sector

25. Standard 5: Animals and Related Resources Required reports for this standard are on – • The number of cattle and small ruminants received for consultation in each of the last 5 years • Cattle and sheep hospitalised in the clinics in the last 5 years • Primary vs. referral consultations for cattle and sheep in the last 5 years • Vehicles available to transport sick animals to the clinic • The number of sick cattle and small ruminants visited by the mobile clinic • The number of mobile clinic farm visits made to see cattle and small ruminants • The number of production animals per student graduating is also required as a ratio for the purposes of RCVS (2.47-1.73)

26. Standard 6: Admission and Students • Selection criteria must be consistent with the school’s mission • Student numbers must be able to be taught to AVBC standards with the available resources • Selection methods must be defined, consistent, defensible and free of discrimination or bias (except for explicit affirmative action in favour of nominated disadvantaged groups • Selection criteria and process must be published and readily available to potential students • The selection process should be regularly reviewed • There should be an appeal mechanism • Each school must provide a mechanism for students to offer suggestions, comments, and complaints regarding compliance with the AVBC standards for accreditation

27. Standard 7: Curriculum (Abridged) • The curriculum must be designed to meet the educational objectives of the school. • The educational process and support must be focused on student learning • Preparation for lifelong learning must be demonstrated • The curriculum must demonstrate the stimulation of inquiry, development of analytical and problem solving abilities and promotion of the development of professional attitudes in students. • Information is specifically sought on teaching in Animal Production, Food Hygiene and Preventive Medicine among others

28. Standard 8: Clinical Resources and Clinical Learning and Teaching • Students must receive clinical instruction that provides them with knowledge, skills, professional attributes and learning skills expected of Australasian veterinary graduates • Adequate clinical material, including all of the major species relevant to veterinary practice in Australasia, must be made available to the students. • It is essential that a diverse caseload of hospitalized patients, outpatients, field service/ambulatory clinic patients and herd health/production medicine cases are provided to allow the necessary breadth and quality of clinical instruction.

29. Standard 8: Clinical Resources and Clinical Learning and Teaching • Practical, hands-on clinical experience must account for not less than 30 per cent of the entire curriculum • Details are requires in the self-study document and annual reports of the numbers of animals examined and treated • For herd and flock animals it is best to report separately on individuals examined for clinical conditions and routine herd/flock examinations. • Students should have opportunity to work with wildlife and less traditional species e.g. rodents, birds, fish.

30. Standard 9: Academic and Support Staff • Staff numbers and qualifications must be sufficient to deliver the educational program and fulfill the mission of the school. • Veterinary schools should take appropriate steps to recruit staff such as providing startup funds or obtaining other resources. • Adequate administrative support and infrastructure facilities should be available. • Academic staff and off-campus personnel under contract to a school must display competence in all areas of the curriculum relevant to their teaching as well as effective teaching skills. • For academic staff, there should have a balanced program of teaching, research and public service. .

31. Standard 9: Academic and Support Staff • A veterinary school must provide evidence that it uses a well-defined and comprehensive program for the professional growth and development of staff. • Academic and general staff should have access to staff development courses appropriate to their • Staff development should be a formal responsibility of the school or faculty • Academic positions must offer the security and benefits necessary to maintain stability, continuity, and competence of the academic staff. • Evidence for teaching excellence should be a key criterion for staff promotion.

32. Standard 10: Postgraduate Training and Continuing Education • Veterinary schools should establish postgraduate and continuing education programs which provide opportunities for the advancement of veterinary knowledge and for further learning and enhancement of skills of the veterinary profession. • Such programs include internships and residencies, and other postgraduate coursework training programs. • These should be relevant to the needs of the profession and community. • Programs and enrolments should be commensurate with the facilities, clinical and other resources and staff to provide programs of quality. • Staff should be involved in continuing education programs to take advantage of staff expertise for the development of the veterinary profession at large.

33. Standard 11: Research • A veterinary school must demonstrate significant and broad research activities of staff that integrate with and strengthen the veterinary degree program through research-led teaching. • Students should have the opportunity for in-depth research experience to encourage an interest in veterinary research in their future careers • Opportunities could be provided through electives or intercalated years in a combined veterinary and biological science degree program at bachelor, master or doctoral levels.

34. Standard 12: Outcomes Assessment • The veterinary school must gather data, on a routine or established basis, to demonstrate that its institutional and educational objectives are being met. • The school must provide evidence to show that: • its mission is being achieved; • its graduates have (or for a new school, will have) achieved the level of competence required of an entry-level veterinarian (RCVS Day 1 competences); • its veterinary program is subject to internal and external evaluation and validation processes

35. Standard 12: Outcomes Assessment • Procedures must be established to review such evidence, mechanisms demonstrated for the implementation of change on the basis of such review, and processes established for informing relevant internal and external stakeholders of the outcomes of the review processes • Evidence of outcomes assessment also should be provided for each of the standards and addressed in each of the sections of the self-evaluation report.

36. RCVS EMS Requirements • Must be organised, monitored and recorded • 12 weeks with normal healthy animals becoming acquainted with animal production and different livestock enterprises • Students must acquire a varied experience of clinical practice involving 26 weeks of EMS in clinical practice and other veterinary work environments • The balance of experience on EMS may vary Specific requirements apply to Veterinary Public Health teaching including – • Epidemiology • Veterinary state medicine • Food hygiene and technology See Annex 6 of “Criteria and guidance for RCVS approval of veterinary degree courses in the UK and overseas” RCVS November 2011.

37. Voluntary Accreditation • AVMA does not appear to be specific about ruminant education • Massey University and the 4 long established Australian veterinary schools now have requested and gained AVMA accreditation in addition to AVBC accreditation • WHY? • WHO benefits from accreditation? • WHAT are the benefits of accreditation?

38. Challenges of Accreditation

39. Thank you – Discussion or Questions?