14 Jan 2026
RVC and University of Glasgow students significantly improved their performance on the key licensing exam for practising veterinary medicine in the US and Canada.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Two British veterinary schools have regained full accreditation in the United States and Canada.
The RVC and the University of Glasgow have both regained accredited status with the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE) after their students improved their performance in the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE).
Among the 11 standards veterinary schools must meet to achieve AVMA COE accreditation is an 80% or higher NAVLE pass rate.
Schools that fail to achieve that standard for two consecutive years are placed on “probationary accreditation”, while those that fail to meet it four years running are placed on “terminal accreditation”.
Both schools had held probationary accreditation status and were at risk of being handed terminal status.
The RVC had failed to achieve the minimum standard for three consecutive years, having recorded pass rates of 71%, 63% and 60% during the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years, respectively.
However, that rate jumped by 26% for 2024/25.
A spokesperson for the RVC said: “Thanks to the incredible dedication and hard work of RVC staff and students, we achieved a pass rate of 86% for the 2024/25 academic year, confirming our AVMA COE accreditation.
“The RVC is committed to providing all our students with the highest quality education, enabling them to pursue a wide range of meaningful careers around the world.
“As part of this commitment, we continue to provide ongoing support to students wishing to take the NAVLE through our dedicated NAVLE Support Programme.”
The University of Glasgow had respectively achieved pass rates of 67% and 62% for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years; it did not post its 2023/24 pass rate, but remained on probationary accreditation status until achieving an 82% rate for 2024/25.
Christopher Loughrey, head of the university’s School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, said: “The school is delighted to report that the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education has confirmed that it has formally returned to full accreditation status. This follows the school achieving a NAVLE pass rate 82% for 2024/25.”
