Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 29, 2024 21 FOCUS: HIGHER EDUCATION EARN WORKFORCE CREDENTIALS TO COMPLIMENT ANY DEGREE. • Add digital badges to your resume. • Secure more job opportunities. • Get ahead of your peers. • Find new professional interests. • Meet new people through networking. • Boost your confidence. • Improve your critical thinking and creativity. NON-CREDIT WORKFORCE TRAINING THAT IS AFFORDABLE, CONVENIENT, AND ENGAGING. Some of the many training opportunities offered through OWLL with more programs added all the time: Amazon Web Services Career Building Data Analytics Diversity and Inclusion Drone Academy Human Resource Management Information Technology Intel AI Medical Spanish Python I & Python II Technical Communication for the Sciences Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management LIFELONG LEARNING WITH PURPOSE: TRANSFORMING YOUR FUTURE OR VISIT SouthernCT.edu/owll @scsu_owll SCSU Office of Workforce and Lifelong Learning SCSU Office of Workforce and Lifelong Learning GAIN WORKFORCE SKILLS FOR A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE! CONNECT WITH US ON: SCSU-OWLL-HBJ-9_75x6_75.qxp_Layout 1 4/17/24 2:59 PM Page 1 He said the school also brings in speakers to discuss what is needed when they apply, and provides academic counselors who assist graduates. Fierce competition And yet, that is often not enough to help Connecticut students gain access to fiercely competitive veteri- nary medicine programs. According to a 2022 report from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), the national acceptance rate for such programs is just 45%. By compar- ison, the National Association for College Admission Counseling said the average acceptance rate in 2021 for public colleges was 78%, while private colleges averaged 70%. Chaubey did not have exact figures, but estimated that a similar percentage, roughly 45%, of UConn graduates were successful in applying to veterinary schools. The AAVMC report noted that just 41 students from Connecticut in 2022 were admitted to veterinary schools nationwide, which means another 50 likely had applied but were not accepted. When the Kerr grant program was functioning, Chaubey said, some UConn graduates benefited. "When we were working with Iowa State University, … the feedback we were receiving was that our students did quite well," Chaubey said. "It would be very favorable to continue to have this relationship." Dr. Mark Albin agrees. A veter- inarian with the Powder Ridge Veterinary Hospital in Middlefield, Albin testified in support of reviving the Kirklyn M. Kerr grant program on behalf of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association, for which he is a past president. Albin earned his doctor of veteri- nary medicine degree from Auburn University in 1994, but says not much has changed since then to help fill the growing need nationwide for vets. In his testimony on the bill, he noted that his hospital was "fortu- nate to hire a new associate veter- inarian," but that she had chosen Powder Ridge over offers from 17 other hospitals. In an interview with Hartford Business Journal, Albin said all 17 of those offers were from facilities or practices in Connecticut. "You could probably draw a circle of 25 to 50 miles around Middle- field" that would encompass all the other facilities seeking her services, he said. It's personal Albin also said the issue of resurrecting the grant program is "more personal" for him because his son recently graduated from a pre-veterinary program at UConn, but was unable to win a spot in a veterinary school after his first round of applications. "Right now, he's on a waitlist for a couple of schools," Albin said. "But it looks like he's going to go to St. George's University in Grenada." St. George's is one of two veter- inary schools located in the Carib- bean; the other is Ross University in St. Kitts. Albin said students who can't gain admission to U.S. schools often look abroad. One of his son's friends is enrolled in Granada, while another is a student in Scotland. "You take advantage of whatever opportunity you can find," he said. Albin added that animal hospitals and veterinary facilities desperately need not only veterinarians, but also support staff, including vet techni- cians, nurses and assistants. It takes at least eight years to become a vet, including four years to earn a bachelor's of science degree, and then four more to earn a doctor of veterinary medicine degree. Albin said some veterinarians complete internships, while others may do a three- or four-year residency to train in specialties that include neurology, oncology, anesthesiology or radiology, among others. All of that training comes at a price. Albin told legislators that student debt after four years of veterinary school can "easily surpass $300,000 to $400,000, depending on the school." That's what makes the Kerr grant program for tuition so beneficial, he said. "Providing Connecticut veterinary students with an education at a lower tuition through this program will increase the number of doctors in our state at a time when they are sorely needed," Albin said. LIMITED OPTIONS Nationwide, only 33 schools in 27 states offer veterinary medicine programs, including just three schools in the Northeast: • Tufts University, Massachusetts • Cornell University, New York • Long Island University, New York Source: American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges

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