Veterinary School Accreditation Accreditation of veterinary schools is an integral part of quality assurance procedures for veterinary undergraduate education in most of the major regional economies. In general, the process operates regionally and includes a number of countries in each system. In Australia and New Zealand the system is managed by the Veterinary Schools Accreditation Advisory Committee (VSAAC) which reports to the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council. In a recent revision of the procedures, VSAAC has been very aware of the desire of different veterinary accreditation bodies to adopt comparable standards and procedures in order to facilitate movement of veterinarians between different countries. VSAAC has also noted developments in accreditation procedures in other professions and have attempted to adopt procedures that are consistent with contemporary thinking in the area. The procedures are described in the Policies Procedures and Guidelines (pdf) publication (updated September 2008) which place a greater emphasis on getting agreement on the attributes of veterinary graduates and how veterinary schools are developing and delivering the veterinary curriculum to ensure that their graduates have these attributes. VSAAC is conscious of the fact that nothing stands still and committee members are keen to see the development of an active process whereby the profession debates the issue of accreditation. It is the desire of the Committee that the outcome of these discussions will drive future developments of veterinary accreditation in Australia and New Zealand. For more information please contact the AVBC Inc.
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