Clarifying the VMRCVM Agreement with the American University of Antigua

by Gerhardt G. Schurig, DVM, Ph.D.

As I am sure many of you have heard, the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the American University of Antigua  (AUA). This agreement opens the possibility of our veterinary college accepting transfer students from their newly formed School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. While our college is very excited about this opportunity, it has become clear there is some confusion in the veterinary community on what exactly this partnership means. Therefore, I share the following information in an attempt to answer any questions and to clarify any misunderstandings:

• The VMRCVM routinely has four or more empty seats in its third and fourth years of the DVM program as a result of attrition. This is an economic challenge the college simply can’t afford, especially in light of recent state budget cuts. By opening up these seats to transfer students, who will pay out-of-state tuition, the college will generate additional, needed revenue.

• The American University of Antigua was established by a group of American physicians and medical education professionals to address the shortage of healthcare professionals in the U.S. The university currently offers medical and nursing programs designed to make sure students meet the requirements of medical and nursing licensure in the United States and achieve passing scores on the U.S. Medical Licensing Examinations. They recently indicated their intent to form a veterinary school where students would transfer to established veterinary colleges in the United States for their third and fourth years of training.

• The VMRCVM indicated it would be interested in partnering with AUA to fill the seats left open by attrition, pending we could be assured the first two years, or four semesters, of instruction would mirror our own. After many talks and a good deal of research, it was agreed AUA would model their new veterinary college after the VMRCVM’s curriculum. We are confident this will not only provide quality instruction to students at AUA, but will ensure those who transfer here will have no gaps in their training.

• In addition, students will transfer into the VMRCVM’s fourth semester after four semesters of training at AUA. This will give the transfer students one additional semester of training compared to students who begin their training at the VMRCVM.

• Only students who successfully complete four semesters at AUA AND who pass the National Board of Medical Examiners Qualifying Examination will be eligible to transfer. We anticipate accepting an average of five students per year.

• Unless accreditation issues preclude us from doing so, our intent is to confer transfer students a degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine once they complete their training at the college.

I hope this information resolves any misunderstandings about our relationship with AUA. However, should there be any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our college.

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Important Links from this article

Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

American University of Antigua