External expertise is integrated into activities at the School of Veterinary Medicine with the aim of supporting development and further development of degree programs. It is an additional instrument to supplement quality assurance in studies and teaching. This expertise is obtained through the regular involvement of external experts. This is done for the various degree programs either within the context of a Peer Consultation with external specialists or through an EAEVE peer review process.

A Peer Consultation provides a structured setting for an objective evaluation of individual degree programs that integrates input from external specialists in the area, external students, and professionals working outside academia. Depending on the specific case, the process aims either to guarantee that quality standards are met when creating a new degree program or to assess existing programs at regular intervals and identify potential areas for development. A Peer Consultation for existing degree programs is held at least once during the accreditation period, and beyond that at least every eight years.The process entails an internal self-critique phase that takes place before the actual consultation. For existing degree programs, the findings from other quality assessment instruments should be taken into account when reviewing the current degree program design. In advance, topics and issues are identified that are to be discussed with the external specialists. The external reviewers’ evaluation and recommendations serve as a basis for creating new degree programs or for reshaping and improving an existing one.

All relevant information and documents on planning and implementation can be found here.

Information on the peer review process of the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) can be found here.