Penn Foster Receives Full Accreditation from the AVMA

It was just announced that the Veterinary Technician Program at Penn Foster College has received its FULL ACCREDITATION from the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The Veterinary Technician at Penn Foster was previously provisionally accredited.

What does Provisionally Accredited mean?

New programs that have made significant progress towards meeting the Standards of Accreditation. The program will remain on provisional accreditation until achieving full accreditation, or for a period not to exceed five years. Programs with Provisional Accreditation classification may be placed on Probationary Accreditation or Accreditation Withdrawn if the program does not provide continuing evidence of progress toward meeting all Standards, or if it has been on provisional accreditation status for five years. Once graduates have been produced and outcomes have been collected and analyzed, a provisionally accredited program may petition for full accreditation. A special site visit may be required prior to an accreditation decision if major changes have occurred in the program that may impact the program's ability to meet the Standards of Accreditation.  

- Information taken from AVMA.org

Why is Accrediation Important?

Accreditation by the AVMA Council on Education (COE) and Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA) represents the highest standard of achievement for veterinary medical education in the United States. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review.

Accreditation is a process by which an educational institution or program submits to a voluntary, non-governmental review to determine whether it meets accepted standards of quality. Within veterinary medicine, the AVMA COE develops standards and conducts reviews of DVM or equivalent educational programs, while the AVMA CVTEA develops standards and reviews programs in veterinary technology. An institution or program is considered fully accredited when it is found to meet these standards (see the COE accreditation process and the CVTEA accreditation process for more information).

Graduation from an AVMA COE- or CVTEA-accredited institution is a prerequisite for licensure or certification for professional practice through the majority of state licensing boards and credentialing agencies in order to meet the educational prerequisites.

In brief, AVMA accreditation of veterinary medical programs and institutions assures:

• prospective students that they will meet a competency threshold for entry into practice, including eligibility for professional credentialing and/or licensure;
• employers that graduates have achieved specified learning goals and are prepared to begin professional practice;
• faculty, deans and administrators that their programs measure satisfactorily against national standards and their own stated missions and goals;
• the public that public health and safety concerns are being addressed; and
• the veterinary profession that the science and art of veterinary medicine are being advanced through contemporary curricula.

- Information taken from AVMA.org


For more information on the Veterinary Technician program at Penn Foster, please visit their website.