29 Jan 2025
RCVS officials plan to join European counterparts on assessments as part of fresh partnership with the European Association for Establishments in Veterinary Education.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Image: © Thaut Images / Adobe Stock
A new initiative enabling RCVS officials to join their European counterparts on vet school accreditation visits is set to be launched later this year.
College leaders have described the assessment as a valuable “test case” for the organisation’s fresh partnership with the European Association for Establishments in Veterinary Education (EAEVE).
But questions have been raised about the feasibility of ensuring both bodies’ standards are being met at the same time.
Current arrangements, which make graduates from EAEVE-approved schools eligible for RCVS registration, are due to expire in 2029 at the latest – a decade after they were first introduced as a “temporary” measure.
The time limit, which remains subject to an annual review, was introduced last year when members criticised Defra for failing to respond to a request for financial help towards the college’s longer-term accreditation objectives.
Since then, the council has backed plans to offer specific European schools the chance to seek direct RCVS accreditation, based on their estimated impact on the UK workforce and prospects of success.
A report to the first council meeting of 2025, held on 16 January, said subsequent negotiations with EAEVE had secured the right for the college to send two representatives, who would have “observer” status on EAEVE assessment visits to schools within the EU.
It continued: “While these representatives will not have a role in contributing to the EAEVE report, they would be responsible for gathering evidence and completing the RCVS accreditation rubric, detailing how a programme is meeting RCVS standards.”
The meeting was told that while two of the schools that are due to be assessed by EAEVE this year initially expressed interest in being accredited by the RCVS, college officials will now only visit one, in Barcelona, following a review instigated by new managers at the other.
Junior vice-president Tim Parkin, who also chairs the council’s education committee, said the visit would be “a good test case” for the scheme.
But although he stressed he wanted the scheme to work, council member David Barrett raised concerns about the challenges that would be faced by both the schools and the college representatives on the assessment visits.
Referring to the latter, he said: “I think it’s going to be really tough on those individuals and may not be possible.”
Prof Parkin sought to reassure him that the issues had been considered, adding: “We have to recognise this is going to present different challenges and what will be key is to have experienced accreditation visitors on the first visit.”
The report also emphasised the “degree of harmony” between RCVS and EAEVE standards, which it anticipated would reduce challenges for the college assessors, despite them only being able to ask questions once their counterparts have covered the areas they need to.
Senior vice-president Sue Paterson said she was “100% confident” in the college’s procedures for accrediting UK vet schools, but questioned what assurances the body had received from EAEVE. Director of education Linda Prescott-Clements said the initiative was now a formal policy of EAEVE and was being replicated with other regulatory bodies.
Prof Parkin added that the college was awaiting details of EAEVE’s planned accreditation visits for 2026 so it could contact those schools as well, while the education committee will also consider, which schools could be invited to seek accreditation in future years.
