Glouco college signs deal with veterinary school

Aspiring veterinarians have a new option to earn a degree that could allow them to finish their education faster and more cheaply.

Gloucester County's community college, Rowan College at Gloucester County, signed an agreement last week with the for-profit Ross University's School of Veterinary Medicine in the West Indies. Under the deal, Ross will reserve three seats each semester for graduates of the community college, enrolling those students in the graduate professional school immediately after they receive their associate's degree.

"The students aren't required to complete their baccalaureate degrees, so there's a dramatic cost savings for students in the South Jersey region," said Brenden Rickards, dean of the division of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at Rowan College at Gloucester County.

"It now provides an option most students don't even consider if they want to go into a career in veterinary medicine," he said.

The American Veterinary Medical Association lists 28 accredited schools in the United States. The only one in the region is at the University of Pennsylvania; New Jersey has none. The closest veterinary schools after that: Virginia Tech, Cornell University in New York, and Tufts University in Massachusetts.

"In this state, we don't have any vet schools, and we don't have any seats in any vet schools, so if a student really wants to go on this track . . . it's going to be a very difficult path," said Emily Allen, who runs the community college's equine science program.

Traditionally, students at the college who wished to become veterinarians have pursued an associate's degree through that program, which covers a range of animal husbandry. They would then transfer to a partner university - Rutgers-New Brunswick, Cornell, or Delaware Valley College - to finish a bachelor's degree before going on to veterinary school.

Students interested in Ross' veterinary program should be academically strong and motivated, she said, since they will receive 51/2 years of training instead of eight.

"They'll be well-prepared for the Ross program after they've gone through our program, but it is definitely a program for students who are very strong," she said.

Ross' veterinary school is affiliated with 20 other schools, including Cornell, Penn, Purdue University, Tufts, and the University of Florida. After Ross, students do a yearlong clinical rotation.

Standards at some for-profit colleges have been criticized, but Rickards and Allen praised Ross. The veterinary school, on St. Christopher Island, has been accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association since 2011. In the 2012-13 school year, 94 percent of graduates passed the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam, a prerequisite to practicing in the United States.

Allen visited the campus and reviewed its curriculum to measure its academic quality, she said.

"I felt like the experience is similar to what we have, that the faculty had a very hands-on, student-centered approach," she said.

"We looked at the curriculum, we had a chance to talk to lots of different faculty members in lots of different areas, and I felt that it was very rigorous. We got a chance to meet with alumni as well," Allen said. "I was really impressed."

The community college enrolls between 20 and 30 students in the program, graduating five to 15 a year, Rickards said. He said he hoped the new agreement would draw more students to the school.

"I expect our enrollment and numbers will grow, with the opportunity here," he said. "I believe this will definitely recruit students that are interested in going into veterinary medicine where this wouldn't have been an option before."

The agreement was retroactive to Sept. 1, so current students at Rowan College at Gloucester County can apply for one of the reserved seats.