Comments sought by January 13, 2025
The AVMA Council on Education® (COE®) is seeking feedback from the veterinary community regarding potential changes to how education can be delivered to students pursuing DVM, VMD, or equivalent degrees at COE-accredited programs.
Distance education involves educational delivery through the use of technology to students who are separated from the instructor, and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor or instructors, either synchronously or asynchronously. For more information, see the federal definition of distance education here.
Based on current federal regulations, allowing distance education in veterinary medical educational programs to any degree would require a substantive change to the scope of recognition for the AVMA COE as a programmatic accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education. Any potential expansion of scope would require development and federal approval of policies, procedures, and accreditation standards to include evaluation and assessment of veterinary medical education delivered through technology.
Consideration of such a change requires broad input from across the veterinary community.
How to comment
The COE is seeking comment and perspectives through January 13, 2025, regarding the potential use of distance education to deliver education, in whole or in part, to veterinary students seeking a DVM, VMD, or equivalent degree.
To comment, fill out and submit this survey no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 13, 2025. Given the large number of comments expected, please note that there is a 350-word limit.
The COE is committed to ensuring the highest-quality education for students to maintain a strong veterinary profession, and to engaging with those who share this goal.