22 Jul 2020
Pipeline of young vets won't run dry because of ongoing impacts of coronavirus, UK's vet schools declare.
James Westgate
Job Title
Image: © Siam / Adobe Stock
UK vet schools remain confident the supply line of young vets will not run dry due to the ongoing impacts of coronavirus.
During lockdown the higher education sector has come under severe pressure, with 13 universities facing the “very real prospect” of insolvency unless the Government offers a bailout, according to a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Social distancing and other measures to suppress the further spread of COVID-19 mean many universities are seeing finances hit by a fall in the number of international students enrolling, as well as reduced income from student accommodation, conferences facilities and catering.
But despite these challenges, UK vet schools have seen no fall in enrolments for veterinary medicine this year, with some soon to start on-campus teaching.
The University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science has a dual intake system, with one cohort beginning their course in April and another this September.
Both cohorts are full, with 150 students in each – some of whom will be among the first students in the UK to return to face-to-face teaching when studies resume at the school’s Sutton Bonington campus at the end of July.
Dean of the school Gary England said: “We have seen no negative impact on our student intake as a result of coronavirus and I am confident that UK vet schools will be able to maintain the supply chain of top-quality home-grown vets.
“Our course is very IT-enabled anyway, so we normally record all of our lectures that are available to students after delivery, and we deliver everything through that virtual learning environment anyway, so it wasn’t actually a big change for us.
“We have everything to deliver to the students already prepared. Some tutors rerecorded their lectures and some staff have used a lecture they have previously recorded, but what we have done is to make sure they are still very involving of the students.”
The early return of the April cohort will enable face-to-face teaching that cannot be delivered remotely – specifically essential animal handling, and health and safety skills required before students can embark on the work experience element of their course.
Practical sessions will form part of a blended approach to learning, with other lectures and tutorial support continuing to be delivered remotely to reduce the number of students in teaching buildings at any one time.
Similar measures have been introduced at all of the UK’s eight vet schools – including the RVC, where principal Stuart Reid and his colleagues are expecting an even busier summer than usual.
Prof Reid said: “I would say we cannot be 100% sure until 28 September, but I have to say our numbers at this point are as buoyant as ever and I am not hearing of any issues at the other schools either.
“Obviously it is going to be a different university experience for them; we have taken the decision to keep a couple of cohorts – not the new intake – off campus until 2021, but they will be getting full online teaching.
“We need to be inventive and I take my hat off to all staff in all the schools – especially this summer, where we are seeing effort like we have never seen before put into making sure this all works, and works safely. We are having to translate everything into meaningful, remote and online. It’s about having proper structured online learning experiences for those off campus and for those on campus. But we are up for the challenge and it is a privilege to be working with them.”
