April 2012 Archives

The primary discussion item today was the pros and cons of year-round attendance and completion of the program in three years. The curriculum review board could see no clear educational advantage and many disadvantages. A financial analysis regarding possible benefit to the students will be completed in the coming weeks. Unless there is a compelling financial reason, the curriculum review board will not seriously consider this further. However, it does open up good ideas about flexible scheduling to spread student workload and the possibility of making other coursework or opportunities available over the summer.

Another conversation held this week concerns to what extent students are exposed to training in clinical skills. This will be an important topic for the curriculum review board to consider as we look at the coursework for the first and second year and we welcome input.

minutes_04-19-12.pdf

The primary focus of today's meeting was determination of competencies for our students and at what point in the curriculum we expect them to demonstrate this knowledge and these technical and non-technical skills. This will be used to guide decisions about courses and their sequencing. Many people have provided input on these competencies over the years including multiple faculty groups, students, and practitioners. Please note that species are not designated and there will, of course, need to be extensive discussion regarding for which species given competencies are relevant. The curriculum review board also is looking for input regarding which are considered universal, and therefore would be part of the core curriculum, and which are not universal and so would be included in the tracked part of the curriculum. These competencies will be posted as hard copies on the curriculum revision wall downstairs in the VMC around the corner from ultrasound on or after April 10, 2012.

A provocative question for you - what do you think of President Kaler's idea about year-round attendance for students? Could we make this model work at the College of Veterinary Medicine?

minutes_04-05-12.pdf

year one competencies.xlsx

year two competencies.xlsx

year three competencies.xlsx

year four competencies.xlsx