Southern Cross University Veterinary School to open in 2025

Next year, a new entrant will join the ranks of Australian Veterinary Schools. In 2025, Southern Cross University will offer a 3-year BVetTech course, to be closely followed in 2026 with a 5-year BVetMed course.

Located in the regional NSW town of Lismore, the school will align with the distributed practice model, with students to undertake the practical components of their training in local clinics throughout the Northern Rivers.

Buoyed by a positive response from the regional veterinary community, SCU Veterinary Program Director Professor Rowland Cobbold is enthusiastic about the school’s imminent opening and the progressive approach, saying “We’ve had good engagement from local practices who are interested in partnering with us and they’re very supportive of the practical, competence-based training model.”

^{SCU Veterinary Program Director Professor Rowland Cobbold}

SCU, along with Melbourne University, is a member of The Consortium of Workplace Based Education and Learning (COWBEL), a group of international veterinary colleges and universities that promotes the benefits of using a workplace-based (or distributed) model of education to prepare new veterinary graduates.

Workplace-based Veterinary Education is veterinary clinical education delivered at facilities not owned by the university program. All required educational experiences are done at facilities meeting accrediting body standards. Professor Cobbold says this ensures students will be much more practice ready when they graduate. “Everything has clinical linkage from the beginning; it’s work-integrated learning from day one,” he impresses.

“We’ll have some core practices that will be very closely engaged with the school. In some cases, we’ll have SCU employed clinicians embedded in practices.”

Professor Rowland encourages the Australian veterinary community to engage with the SCU Veterinary School, and looks forward to enhanced collaboration between veterinary schools. A participant in the National Veterinary Workforce Data and Governance Roundtable in August this year, Professor Rowland is encouraged by these new efforts to advance the profession’s future. “The steps being taken by the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer, supported by the AVA, are vital to strengthening data collection and knowledge across the profession,” he remarked.