Meeting & Agendas

Meeting was called to order at 7:14 pm by Tara Maxson. New members were welcomed and introduced.

October 2013 minutes were reviewed and approved.

For the Math Prerequisite, the college will accept any college level mathematics from the Core Curriculum course list (http://www.austincc.edu/cataloghtml/core.php). For other general education courses, any humanities course from the core curriculum list will be accepted, but PHIL 2306 (Ethics) is recommended. SPCH 1318 (Interpersonal Communications), SPCH 1315 (Public Speaking) or SPCH 1321 (Business and Professional Communication) will be accepted for the communications requirement.

• Husbandry Class: 10 students have completed the spring 2014 VTHT 1103 Class. It was a success. There will be a scholarship available for students interested in the Vet Tech program. Students who are going to complete their prerequisites and who are seeking admission and begin the program will be able to apply. • Potential applicants for fall admission: Vice President will allow a small cohort to start the program pending the completion of course prerequisites and approval from Dr. Rhodes.

We have 12 qualified applicants that have applied and we are in the process of setting up interviews to be held the first week in April. Current RVT holders must not let their status expire or they will have to retest with TSBVME to obtain a veterinary technician license.

• Accreditation Timeline and Requirements: The initial application for veterinary technology program accreditation will be made to the AVMA prior to the start of classes in the fall. At that time, the AVMA will schedule the initial site visit (typically done when the students are about to finish 2/3 of the program) to evaluate program facilities and curriculum. The highest accreditation we can achieve at an initial program evaluation is a provisional accreditation. No programs are ever granted full accreditation on the first visit. The first visit is to see that ACC meets the minimum standards and then the AVMA will give us feed back to help us develop the program. AVMA will give us three levels of recommendations. 1. Critical: We only have a few months to get corrected. 2. Major: We have around five years to make changes. 3. Minor: We could choose to have more than five years to make changes; Dr. Coombs does not recommend that. After the five years they come back again and see how we have done and decide if we move into full accreditation. • Clinical Site needs for entire program-facilities for clinical instruction The committee discussed clinical teaching models and agreed that having a small group of students at a facility with their instructor is preferred to one-on-one placements in veterinary facilities (similar to preceptor ship) without instructor oversight. Scheduling times, availability of animals, and supplies (instructor will have to bring) are details that will need to be worked out for each class. We will investigate opportunities with shelters in Bastrop, Georgetown, Pflugerville Animal Shelter (Director Rhonda Mclendon) or Paws in Kyle. Students will need to work with model animals before live ones. Contact Gayle Millard to find out preceptor clinical list from Texas A&M. We will also work with Stephanie Fletcher; Emancipet might have clinical space in Pflugerville. • Onsite/online Information sessions Dr. Coombs would like to have both online and onsite information sessions so we can sit down with the potential student and speak with him/her. • Recruitment of new students: Ideas could include Mighty Texas dog walk, Contact High School counselors, FFA programs; Bowie High school is a good resource. • Equipment recommendations for clinical chemistry and hematology trends Equipment most common in private practice: Abaxis, Heska, and IDEXX. • Recommendation for common veterinary management software packages- (within budget) Avimark, Intra Vet, Infinity and DVMAX Cornerstone is common but some say hard to use. Announcements: All students in the veterinary technology program will be required to carry personal health insurance. Next Meeting Date E-mails will be sent out in September regarding the next meeting time. Adjourned: 9:02 pm