Western Canada's Veterinary College at the University of Saskatchewan Achieves Full Accreditation

Posted June 01, 2004


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 1, 2004 2004-06-01-WCVM

Western Canada's Veterinary College Achieves Full Accreditation

SASKATOON, SASK. -- The University of Saskatchewan's Western College of
Veterinary Medicine has achieved full accreditation status from the American
Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) Council on Education for another
seven years - the maximum number of accreditation years granted by the
organization.

Like all other Canadian and U.S. veterinary colleges, WCVM must be
accredited with the AVMA to operate as a qualified centre for veterinary
education and research. This decision means WCVM students can continue
writing the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination - a
comprehensive test written by all U.S. and Canadian veterinary students in
their final year - with no restrictions.

Full accreditation also implies that the College's graduates are eligible to
practice anywhere in Canada, the United States and in several other
countries.

WCVM Dean Charles Rhodes said: "For western Canadian practitioners and for
our alumni, this signifies that their College still meets the highest
international standards of veterinary education."

In December 2003, accreditation team members spent a week conducting on site
inspections and interviews with students, faculty, staff, alumni and local
practitioners. The site team evaluated the College under 11 categories:
organization, finances, physical facilities and equipment, clinical
resources, library and information resources, students, admissions, faculty,
curriculum, research and outcomes assessment.

The report from the AVMA's Council on Education included the accreditation
site team's comments. "They commended us on the quality, maturity and
enthusiasm of our students," said Rhodes. "Plus, they praised our success in
increasing research funding in the past few years."

Team members applauded the upgrades in the College's computer laboratories
and improvements to the audiovisual and electronic services in lecture
rooms.

The AVMA's approval has increased morale at the College, and Rhodes hopes
the news will boost WCVM's upcoming fund raising campaign. The College plans
to raise $5 million from its stakeholders to use toward a major expansion of
its Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

"We can tell people that we are fully accredited which is the proof that
we're doing an excellent job," said Rhodes. "Upgrading our facilities will
not only ensure that we meet the AVMA's accreditation standards seven years
down the road, but will provide a facility that continues to be the pride of
Western Canada."

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine is located at the University of
Saskatchewan. It is a regional veterinary College that serves the
veterinary needs of the four western provinces. Undergraduate veterinary
students come from all four western provinces based on an Inter-provincial
Agreement between the four provinces and the University of Saskatchewan.
Currently, there is a total of 280 students enrolled in the four-year
program. There is an active program of postgraduate studies and research,
with nearly 90 graduate students pursuing advanced training and research.

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For more information contact:

Dr. Charles Rhodes, Dean
Western College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 966-7448