The European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) granted accreditation to the Cooperative Veterinary Education Program between Hokkaido University and Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, VetNorth Japan, and to the Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Yamaguchi University and Kagoshima University, VetJapan South.
The EAEVE, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is the official accreditation authority for veterinary education establishments in Europe. It develops standards and guidelines for quality assurance of veterinary education in Europe and reviews its member establishments’ compliance to those standards and guidelines. Establishments with no major deficiency are given EAEVE’s accreditation status, while those with one major deficiency are granted a conditional accreditation status, and those with two or more major deficiencies receive a non-accreditation status.
The four universities joined hands in implementing the Program for the Establishment of a Collaborative Veterinary Education Platform of International Standards by Veterinary Colleges of Four National Universities (2012–2017) under the Ministry of Education’s Subsidy Project for the Enhancement and Promotion of National University Reforms, and have continued their efforts even after the completion of the subsidy project in order to produce veterinarians who will play leading roles, whether nationally or internationally, and to enhance veterinary education standards in Japan. These efforts have earned them the accreditation status.
The presidents of the four universities held a joint press conference at the Ministry of Education’s press conference room on December 13. On behalf of the four universities, OUAVM president Kiyoshi Okuda said that we do not consider the accreditation as a goal but as a milestone, and the four universities will share their experiences and knowledge from the accreditation process with other veterinary colleges to make ongoing contributions to lead in improving the Japanese veterinary education. OUAVM will continue its efforts to further internationalize its veterinary education programs. OUAVM is also committed to promoting international exchanges and joint research projects to provide quality education with a solid research foundation.
