The Midwestern and Lincoln Memorial veterinary colleges, which opened this past August, have cleared a major accreditation hurdle by earning provisional status from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education. Full accreditation could come when the inaugural classes graduate in 2018. The two colleges started their accreditation journeys when the Council on Education issued letters of reasonable assurance before the first students arrived. Comprehensive site visits next fall will help determine whether they are meeting a host of standards necessary for full accreditation. Kathleen H. Goeppinger, Ph.D., Midwestern University’s president and CEO, credited the Glendale, Ariz., college’s entire team for the provisional accreditation. “[They have] done an excellent job developing the programs and curriculum for our veterinary students,” Goeppinger said. “The AVMA has extremely high standards as an accrediting group, and we are pleased that we have met them consistently throughout the entire process.” Midwestern has gone on a $180 million spending spree to accommodate its 102 first-year veterinary students and subsequent classes. A 78,000-square-foot academic building and large and small animal hospitals are either open or under construction. Lincoln Memorial University started with 95 veterinary students on its Harrogate, Tenn., campus.
