Education Department proposes accreditation rules that would bar AVMA from COE oversight

The U.S. Department of Education proposed regulations that would bar trade associations from all accreditation funding, staffing, oversight, decision-making, appointments, and policymaking. Under the new framework, organizations such as the AVMA would have no role in the Council on Education, and multiple competing accreditors would be allowed to operate in veterinary education. The proposal shifts accreditation away from prescriptive input requirements toward performance and outcomes, with stated goals of reducing costs and encouraging innovation.

The DOE also referenced antitrust concerns involving the AVMA and Lincoln Memorial University. Comments are due Sept. 21, with formal adoption expected to follow and implementation running through July 2027. Current accreditors remain in place during the interim.

What the proposal does to the AVMA COE structure

Under the proposed regulations, organizations such as the AVMA would have no role in funding, staffing, oversight, decision-making, appointments, or policymaking related to accreditation. The AVMA has characterized the rulemaking as potentially sweeping for accreditors such as the COE and has been examining what the changes could mean for veterinary education and accreditation as the federal rulemaking process moves forward.

Dr. Jesse M. Hostetter, COE chair, said in a statement to AVMA News: "We will make any necessary changes to the COE, as outlined by the U.S. DOE's proposed rules, once they are confirmed and established. The COE will continue to champion rigorous accreditation standards that promote excellence in veterinary medical education."

The statement does not address how the COE would operate under the new restrictions on trade association involvement, or whether the AVMA would pursue a restructured accreditation entity separate from the association itself. We're reading the statement as signaling continuity without explaining compliance. The COE says it will champion rigorous standards, but the proposed rules would remove the AVMA from the apparatus that sets and enforces those standards.

The distance education opening

New language in the regulations aims to reduce barriers to technology and alternative educational models so institutions can adopt practices that improve student access and accelerate degree completion. For veterinary colleges, that opens the door to distance components in DVM programs, something the current COE standards have historically limited.

Associates two years out of school are looking at the first regulatory signal that the next generation of graduates may have trained under a different model, with different clinical hour requirements and different hands-on minimums. Whether that produces better prepared or worse prepared colleagues is what the performance and outcomes language is supposed to answer, but the data will not be available for years. Our read: the shift to outcomes-based accreditation is the right direction in theory, but veterinary medicine has no track record with competing accreditors, and the transition period could produce real variance in what a DVM degree means.

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The antitrust reference and what comes next

The DOE framed the proposal as cost reduction and innovation, but the proposal also referenced antitrust concerns involving the AVMA and Lincoln Memorial University and includes restrictions that would remove trade associations from accreditation activities. Whether the COE can restructure to meet the new requirements while maintaining current standards, or whether competing accreditors become an option for schools, is what the comment period and implementation timeline will determine.

The comment period closes Sept. 21, and the AVMA and the vet schools are expected to file detailed responses. Formal adoption is expected to follow, with implementation running through July 2027. Questions about how multiple accreditors would operate, how veterinary medicine would navigate the new framework, and what role organizations such as the AVMA and the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges would ultimately play are what the federal rulemaking process will address as it moves forward.

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