Western University earns full accreditation

Pomona, Calif.

-- Western University's College of Veterinary Medicine has moved from limited to full accreditation, the college announced March 3.

Western's new accreditation status was confirmed by Dr. David Granstrom, director of the American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) education and research division and liaison to the Council on Education (COE), the only recognized accrediting agency for colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States.

The decision was made the previous weekend at COE meetings, Granstrom says. Read the April issue of Dvm Newsmagazine for more details on what factors led to Western's improved accreditation status.

"This is an important and critical step in our college's development, one for which we have worked hard to achieve," said Western Dean Phillip Nelson, in a prepared statement about the accreditation decision. "It is never easy blazing new trails, and creating new models while assuring that quality standards continue to be met. The decision by the COE validates this accomplishment."

Western University of Health Sciences established its College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998 and welcomed its first class of veterinarians in 2003 with provisional accreditation status.

Another accreditation request, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UnAM), is still pending, Granstrom says. COE conducted a site visit, which is a preliminary step in the accreditation process, at the school in late 2008.