{"id":17540,"date":"2026-08-17T11:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T15:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/?p=17540"},"modified":"2026-08-17T14:11:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:11:31","slug":"umes-school-of-veterinary-medicine-awaits-decision-following-comprehensive-accreditation-site-visit-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/umes-school-of-veterinary-medicine-awaits-decision-following-comprehensive-accreditation-site-visit-2\/","title":{"rendered":"UMES School of Veterinary Medicine Awaits Decision Following Comprehensive Accreditation Site Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Veterinary Medicine awaits word from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education to determine whether the institution would qualify for a Letter of Reasonable Assurance. The letter would allow UMES to begin accepting applications and admitting students to the proposed Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. (Joey Gardner Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) has reached another significant milestone in its work to establish Maryland\u2019s first in-state veterinary school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A comprehensive site visit by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education was conducted at UMES from June 21\u201326, 2026. The AVMA COE is the accrediting body recognized for veterinary medical education programs in the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the visit, the evaluation team met with university leaders, faculty, staff, students, community representatives, clinical partners, and other stakeholders. The team reviewed the School of Veterinary Medicine\u2019s progress and evaluated its readiness to meet the AVMA COE\u2019s 11 accreditation standards. These standards address areas including organization and governance, finances, facilities and equipment, clinical resources, information resources, students, admissions, faculty, curriculum, research programs, and institutional outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis comprehensive site visit represented an important milestone for UMES and for the future of veterinary medical education in Maryland,\u201d said Dr. Stanley R. Robertson, dean of the UMES School of Veterinary Medicine. \u201cWe were grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate the extensive planning, institutional commitment, clinical partnerships, and academic preparation that have gone into developing this program. We remain focused on building an innovative and rigorous veterinary medical program that will prepare practice-ready graduates and help address critical veterinary workforce needs across Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic region, and the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the visit, the site evaluation team will prepare its report for consideration by the AVMA Council on Education. The next formal step is for the Council to determine whether the developing UMES School of Veterinary Medicine qualifies for a Letter of Reasonable Assurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reasonable Assurance is the accreditation classification granted to a developing veterinary medical education program that does not yet enroll students but has demonstrated a reasonable prospect of achieving accreditation. If granted, it would allow UMES to begin accepting applications and admitting students to the proposed Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The School of Veterinary Medicine plans to welcome its inaugural class in Summer 2027, pending the AVMA COE\u2019s decision and completion of all required institutional processes. The proposed entering class will include 100 students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon receiving a Letter of Reasonable Assurance, prospective students will apply through the UMES SVM application process this first year. UMES will then conduct a holistic review and selection process based on academic preparation, veterinary and animal experience, personal attributes, recommendations, interviews, and the applicant\u2019s potential to contribute to the veterinary profession and the mission of the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While awaiting the AVMA COE\u2019s decision, UMES continues to advance the faculty recruitment and hiring, academic programming, clinical partnerships, student services, facilities, and operational resources needed to support the proposed DVM program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The School of Veterinary Medicine is being developed to help address veterinary workforce needs on Maryland\u2019s Eastern Shore, throughout the state, across the Mid-Atlantic region, and nationally. The program will prepare veterinarians to serve in companion-animal practice, food-animal and rural practice, equine medicine, public health, biomedical research, food safety, and other areas of professional need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information about prerequisite courses, admissions requirements, and the proposed selection process is available on the admissions section of the UMES School of Veterinary Medicine website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program updates are also available through the School of Veterinary Medicine\u2019s LinkedIn<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a> channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For additional information, email vetschool@umes.edu<\/a> or visit www.umes.edu\/svm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) has reached another significant milestone in its work to establish Maryland\u2019s first in-state veterinary school. A comprehensive site visit by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education was conducted at UMES from June 21\u201326, 2026. The AVMA COE is the accrediting body recognized for veterinary medical education…Read more UMES School of Veterinary Medicine Awaits Decision Following Comprehensive Accreditation Site Visit<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":17531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":103,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-17540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17540"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umes.edu\/scm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=17540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}