AVMA Council on Education Retains Recognized Status; Veterinary Medical Education is in Good Hands

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Oversight of veterinary medical education in this country is in good hands, according to a review by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Recently, CHEA gave the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education (COE) a clean review. The AVMA-COE has been accrediting veterinary schools in the United States for decades, and it currently accredits all 28 veterinary schools in the United States and 17 foreign schools.

"This was a very thorough, completely independent, third-party review that included a site visit to observe the Council in action," says Dr. David Granstrom, director of the AVMA Education and Research Division.  "The CHEA recognition process is transparent and specifically designed to assure the public and the profession that the accrediting agency, in this case the COE, has effective policies and procedures and actually follows them.  The COE submits to CHEA recognition voluntarily as part of its program of continuous improvement."

CHEA granted the AVMA-COE recognition without any deficiencies, meaning that CHEA not only approved of the AVMA-COE programs, but that there were  no areas of concern.

"There is a reason that U.S. veterinary schools are among the best in the world, and I'm extremely proud of the role that the AVMA-COE has played in that success," says Dr. Granstrom. "CHEA recognition provides assurance to the public and the profession that the COE is fulfilling its charge in accordance with nationally established standards."

The CHEA recognition process, which takes a full year, concluded "the COE is in full compliance with all criteria and recommended that the COE be recognized for up to ten years, the maximum length of recognition."

CHEA is an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that grants formal recognition to accreditation bodies for higher education. The AVMA-COE has earned CHEA recognition continuously for more than 50 years.

For more information, please visit www.avma.org.  

The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 82,500 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities.

SOURCE American Veterinary Medical Association