Submission to the Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy
"Veterinary Science Education"
From the Committee of Australian Veterinary Deans
Introduction
Education and training in veterinary science have been provided in Australia as
university degree programmes since 1908. There are now four faculties or
schools of veterinary science: in the Universities of Queensland, Sydney,
Melbourne and in Murdoch University. The bachelor degree in veterinary science
is obtained after five years of full-time study over a wide range of biological
and medical disciplines related to the health and welfare of domestic animals.
Graduates holding bachelors degrees in veterinary science from any of the four
universities are eligible for registration to practice as veterinary surgeons
by the Veterinary Surgeons Boards in each State as well as by the Veterinary
Surgeons Board in New Zealand and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in
the UK. The quality and comparative standards of each Australian faculty of
veterinary science are reviewed every five years by an accreditation committee,
under the auspices of the State Veterinary Surgeons Boards.
Theme one: the role of veterinary science education in
Australia's society and economy
Graduates in veterinary science have the principle responsibility for
preventing disease and for maintaining the health and welfare of all domestic
animals. These include the animals producing food and fibre such as cattle,
sheep, pigs, poultry and fish from which Australia generates export income to
enable it to develop in the global community. Veterinarians also have a role
in preventing the introduction of infectious diseases which are exotic to
Australia, in the recognition of new diseases such as the recent morbillivirus
infections in Queensland, in preventing the transmission of such infectious
diseases from animals to humans and in monitoring and advising on the health of
native fauna. Veterinarians also maintain the health and welfare of the
companion animals: horses, dogs, cats and aviary birds, which are becoming
increasingly important in Australia[Otilde]s aging society through the benefits
that the human-animal bond brings to human health. Therefore, veterinary
science graduates have essential roles in maintaining and improving
productivity of Australia[Otilde]s primary animal industries as well as in
protecting human health.
The employment opportunities for veterinarians include private practice, State
departments of agriculture, private industries, universities and other
organisations undertaking biomedical research. Each year the four Australian
universities produce about 250 new graduates who readily find employment within
Australia. The qualifications and skills of Australian veterinary graduates
are also highly regarded in other countries, particularly in North America and
in the UK.
The four faculties of Veterinary Science are all active centres for research in
animal disease, animal welfare, improved animal productivity and in general
biomedical research. This research is supported by the rural industry research
funds, by ARC and by NH&MRC. Veterinary graduates as well as graduates
from other scientific fields undertake further study for postgraduate
course-work and research degrees in all four veterinary science faculties.
The majority of undergraduate students in veterinary science have enrolled
immediately after leaving high school and they graduate at about 22 to 23 years
of age. Because of the limited quotas and very strong competition for entry,
there are also a varying proportion of older students who obtain places to
study veterinary science only after demonstrating high academic ability in
other tertiary education courses. These students may well be aged 30 or more
at graduation.
Since the 1970's the gender balance of undergraduate veterinary science
students has changed from the previous tradition of being mainly men to that of
now being mainly women. At present, more than 60% of students enrolling in
veterinary science across Australia are women. This change may have some
impact on the types of career chosen by veterinary graduates as well as on
their pattern of career development.
Most veterinarians in private practice work in large cities. Although there is
a need for veterinary graduates in rural practice, the opportunities and
attraction for private practitioners to work in country towns is closely linked
to the state of the rural economy. Furthermore, most veterinary undergraduates
come from an urban background. This partly reflects the better chance that
children from city high schools have of obtaining the high marks required to
win a place in veterinary science. It also reflects the higher cost which
country students have to bear in moving away from home to a capital city to
study veterinary science.
Theme two: factors affecting the demand for and provision of
veterinary education over the next 10 to 20 years
The present demand for undergraduate places in all of the Australian university
veterinary schools is very high and continues to increase. Typically there are
8 to 10 applicants for each place available in the quotas for entry.
Consequently, the academic ability of those who are selected is extremely high.
As mentioned above, the majority of students now seeking to study veterinary
science are women. Many applicants have identified veterinary science as their
vocational career from an early age. Therefore, because of the competition for
limited places, many of those who apply do not achieve the high examination
marks needed to gain entry to a veterinary school and are thus bitterly
disappointed in failing to embark on their career objective.
Veterinary science is a very demanding undergraduate degree programme. The
range of disciplines to be studied is diverse. The complexity and the amount
of biological and other scientific knowledge which has to be understood are
considerable. Each year of the five-year degree programmes is fully occupied
with theoretical and practical classes covering many subjects. During the
university vacations, students are required to obtain specific extramural
experience in animal husbandry and animal handling, as well as, in the higher
years, extramural veterinary clinical experience. Although it is competition
which ensures that only those of great ability gain entry, the intellectual and
physical requirements to study veterinary science are well matched to the
ability of those who enter these professional degree courses.
Despite the high demand for places and the strenuous courses of study, most
veterinarians earn only an average Australian income. The decision to enrol in
veterinary science is therefore related much more to vocational interest than
it is to the prospect of financial rewards. At the present rate of graduation,
the Australian veterinary schools are producing the equivalent of the total
veterinary profession, every 25 years. Hence, simply by replacing retiring
veterinarians, it is concluded that the employment prospects remain good for
all the veterinary graduates that Australian universities are likely to produce
over the next 10 to 20 years.
In contrast, there is more uncertainty about the capability of Australian
universities to continue to provide degree programmes in veterinary science.
It is clear that veterinary science education is one of the most expensive, if
not the most expensive, tertiary education course in Australia. The reasons
for this are:
- The relatively small number of students enrolled in degree programmes which
take five years of full-time study to complete.
- The wide range of disciplines to be studied which require specialised
academic staff who teach only veterinary science students.
- The process of accreditation of Australian university veterinary schools
(which is necessary for graduates to practice as veterinarians) does not permit
the abolition of subjects which universities may no longer be able to afford to
teach.
The critical factor in the provision of veterinary education in the future will
be whether the four universities will each be able to cover the very high cost
of educating veterinary science students.
Theme three: regulatory and administrative framework for
veterinary education
Like the other learned professions, such as medicine and dentistry, the
standards of university veterinary education are maintained by regular
professional accreditation review. This ensures that veterinary graduates meet
the standards required by the State boards of veterinary surgeons. In an
important respect, the ethical task of veterinarians is often more difficult
and complex than that of physicians or dentists. It is clear whom the
physician or dentist serve: they serve the patient, and their primary concern
must always be the welfare and interest of the patient. Veterinarians, on the
other hand, serve both the animal (which is the patient) and the client, who
pays the fee and who, from a legal point of view at least, may determine much
of the course of treatment. Sometimes the interests of these parties are in
conflict, and the veterinarian is caught in the middle, wanting to help both.
The inclusion of law and ethics into the veterinary curriculum encourages
students to consider the ethical questions inherent in the legal ones, and vice
versa.
The four schools of veterinary science have a high degree of cooperation in
maintaining the quality of veterinary science education. Because the demand
for undergraduate places is far greater than the number of places on offer,
there is little competition between universities for veterinary science
students. The Deans of the four schools meet at regular intervals to identify
ways in which they can assist each other to maintain the quality of the
veterinary degree programmes in the four universities. To assist in this, the
four veterinary schools are exploring ways in which information technology,
such as videoconferencing, can enable them to share expertise as the financial
pressure on universities increases and loss of veterinary expertise occurs.
The universities themselves each monitor the standards of undergraduate and
postgraduate teaching in veterinary science, together with the research
performance of the academic staff.
Theme four: financing veterinary science teaching and research training
The money spent on veterinary science education in Australia, is estimated to
be between $20,000 and $24,000 per student per year. Surveys of the cost of
veterinary education in other countries suggests that UK and USA universities
spend respectively about 1.2 and 1.8 times more per student than that provided
in Australian universities. Hence, even though the veterinary educational
standards are comparable between these three countries, the funding base here
is considerably lower. For over a decade, the four universities in Australia
have been unable to provide an adequate level of support for veterinary science
education from general recurrent funding. Although each of the veterinary
schools supplement DEETYA income by 30-40% through the commercial operation of
the clinics and farms used for teaching, they have all had to cut costs, mainly
through the progressive loss of academic and general staff positions which were
still essential for the teaching programmes. Despite this, and despite other
administrative improvements in operating efficiency, total funding is now
barely able to meet the cost of staff salaries, let alone cover running
costs.
As the staff numbers decrease, so the ability to keep up research programmes
also decreases. Even if, through cooperation between the veterinary schools,
teaching expertise can be maintained, a consequence of the continuing decline
in funding will be a decrease in research in veterinary science in Australian
universities.
The prospect of filling the very wide funding gap with income from fee-paying
undergraduate students is uncertain. In recent years there has been an
increase in the number of fee-paying international students enrolled in
Australian veterinary schools. However, it is not known whether there will be
a continuing supply, in the long-term, of international students who have the
capability of paying the very high fees to study veterinary science in
Australia. It should be noted also that current international fees only cover
the educational costs of these students and do not provide any assistance in
the improvement of undergraduate teaching programmes. It is also quite
uncertain whether there will be an adequate number of local students who will
be able to pay the undoubtedly high fees to be charged for fee-paying places in
veterinary science from 1998.
Full fees for international students are about $126,000 for the 5-year degree
course in veterinary science. On the other hand, salaries received by
veterinary graduates in Australia are substantially below those of medical and
dental graduates, both upon graduation ($28,700 and $31,900 for their first two
years) as well as throughout their professional careers. Therefore,
prospective full-fee Australian students will have to consider carefully the
cost/benefit of a career in veterinary science that is likely to require an
upfront outlay of $100,000 to $126,000 in addition to living expenses.
Graduates from such fee-paying courses will inevitably expect higher salaries,
with the result that veterinary fees will rise and the community will pay more
for animal health and welfare services.
Veterinary science students have a very strong vocational commitment so, in
providing them with a professional qualification, the veterinary schools are
contributing to their private benefit. Nevertheless, the financial return to
veterinary graduates for five years of intensive study and financial hardship
is minimal in comparison to most other professional degree programmes.
The significance of veterinary education in Australia comes mainly from the
service veterinary graduates provide to the primary animal industries, to
animal health and welfare and in the protection of human health against
diseases transmissible from animals. We believe that the public benefit of
veterinary education is not recognised in the level of public funding to
support that education. If the level of funding continues to decline and the
future level of income from fees remains inadequate, there is a risk, at best,
of a decline in the standards of veterinary science education and at worst the
loss of veterinary science education from Australian Universities.
Summary of Key Points
- Veterinary science graduates have the principle responsibility for animal
health and welfare and in preventing human disease transmitted from animals.
- The veterinary science degree offers a wide range of career opportunities.
Employment prospects for veterinary graduates are very good for the foreseeable
future.
- The four veterinary science faculties in Australian universities have strong
reputations in research as well as in providing veterinary science education of
high international standing.
- There is a high and increasing demand for veterinary science education with
the result that veterinary science students are amongst the most able in
tertiary education.
- Veterinary science is one of the most, if not the most expensive tertiary
education programme in Australia. This is a consequence of the relatively
small numbers of students, the relatively large numbers of specialised staff
and the need to meet the educational requirements of the registration
authorities, regardless of any decline in university funding.
- High and comparable standards are maintained by 5-yearly accreditation
reviews under the auspices of the State boards of veterinary surgeons.
- The four university veterinary schools have established good cooperative
links aimed at maintaining the quality of veterinary education in the face of
financial cutbacks.
- Despite being very expensive degree programmes, veterinary science education
in Australia is funded at a lower level than in universities in the UK and the
USA where graduates are produced of comparable standard.
- The funding base of veterinary science education in Australia is now at a
critically low level. Unless corrected this will lead to diminished research
performance, lowered educational standards, and, possibly the demise of all the
Australian veterinary schools.
- The prospect of raising additional funds from fee-paying local students
offers some hope for financial survival for the four faculties of veterinary
science. Nevertheless, there is considerable uncertainty whether there will be
sufficient numbers of international and local fee-paying students to provide
the additional income needed to maintain veterinary education in Australia.
- Despite the years of arduous and costly study, the financial return to
veterinary science graduates is similar to the average Australian income.
- The level of public funding for veterinary science education is inadequate
considering the public benefit provided by veterinary science graduates and the
low level of income they receive.
| Professor Ivan Caple |
Professor David Fraser |
| Dean of Veterinary Science |
Dean of Veterinary Science |
| The University of Melbourne |
The University of Sydney |
|
|
| Professor Keith Hughes |
Professor John Yovich |
| Dean of Veterinary Science |
Dean of Veterinary Science |
| The University of Queensland |
Murdoch University |
23 April 1997
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