The RWC Veterinary Technology Program has finished its reaccreditation process and has been reaccredited for another six years. The process is similar for every health-care program at the College. The directors must do an oral report on their programs to their respective councils every two years. The Vet Tech on-site visit was in November 2009 and included two days of observing the program to ensure that it was meeting the accepted standards of quality, as well as making certain that every student was achieving the goals intended for graduation. The AVMA Council on Education met in April 2010 to announce that the UC Raymond Walters program was continuing to produce excellent students who were fulfilling AVMA standards.
Graduating from an accredited program is essential for health-care students. Many states require graduation from an accredited program as a prerequisite for licensure and certification. There are currently 160 accredited programs in the United States and the UC Raymond Walters Vet Tech program is the only fully accredited program in Cincinnati.
The committee reviews the observations during the site visit and reports back to the program with suggestions for improvement. For example, during the previous review to this one, the council strongly recommended that RWC should have its own Vet Tech building. The College responded by building the new Vet Tech Building, which was completed in 2005.
The students also are doing more field work at animal shelters and clinics, getting more real world experience before graduation.
The reaccreditation committee not only reviews the clinical year of the program, but also interviews and speaks with other departments the students take prerequisite classes with, including English, Biology, and Chemistry, as well as the Dean.
The Vet Tech program began in 1969 and has been fully accredited since 1975. It will need to be re-accredited again in six years.
“We are so proud of our staff since 1975,” says Dr. Jennifer Wells DVM, the Vet Tech program director, on being able to meet the AVMA standards.