response to program review report - LSU School Of Veterinary ...

Professional CurriculumExecutive Summary/Professional Curriculum/#1/p2DVM and residency programs are well received by the students, residents, faculty, and alumni.Satisfaction with the program is high.The SVM was pleased that the program review team was impressed with thehigh level of satisfaction among the numerous stakeholders involved with theDVM and residency programs. The professional curriculum is one that involvesmuch of the faculty’s effort and has served as a model curriculum for many of thecurricula currently in place at our peer institutions. That said, we recognize thateven a very good curriculum needs to be constantly evaluated to maintain itsrelevancy and to keep up with changes in the field and with pedagogicaladvances and technologies.Student ConcernsAdmissions and RecruitmentExecutive Summary/Professional Curriculum/#6/p2DVM admissions are a passive process in which applications are received and candidates areselected on the basis of aptitude, educational record, and interview. The quality of the studentshas continually increased during the past 10 years, but competition for outstanding students islikely to increase over time. The School should consider a more active recruiting process for thenation’s best students.The DVM admissions process is not as passive a process as the ProgramReview Committee may have judged. The Director of Admissions and theAssociate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs spend considerable time onrecruiting. Since the current Director of Admissions was hired two years ago, theSVM has improved its web presence and developed a more active recruitmentpresence at state universities throughout Louisiana, especially Louisiana Tech,UNO, Tulane, and Xavier. The Director of Admissions has visited all of thefeeder schools in Arkansas that participate in our Arkansas contract. Wecombine recruiting with our interview process by inviting out-of-state students toLSU during our annual Open House and have developed a program for Arkansasand out-of-state candidates that is held the evening before the interviews thatintroduces them to our school environment, some of our students, ourAdmissions Committee chair, our Director of Admissions, and our AssociateDean for Student and Academic Affairs. The Dean has set aside money from theannual fund to augment scholarships and has authorized up to $20,000 inscholarships to attract desired out-of-state students who have specialcharacteristics that would contribute to the diversity of the student body. He hasalso committed to a new position to oversee recruiting activities, although thatposition is currently frozen due to the current fiscal environment.Diversity is valued by the Administration of the school and the Associate Deanhas been working with the Admissions Committee to bring diversity more into the10