What is an online school?

What colleges online take home-school diplomas?

• I want to be a vet tech and i would like to go to college online because the colleges around me are too far for me to drive everyday and i cant afford to move. So i was looking into going to a vet tech college online and i am not sure what online vet tech programs take a home-school diplomas. Does anyone know of a college that is online that accepts home-school diplomas? I was looking into Penn Foster college but i can not find if they accept my home-school diploma. Please any information will help!! Thank you in advance!

• Answer:

  Veterinary technicians are required (in most states) to have a 2 year degree in veterinary technology from an AVMA accredited veterinary technology program, to have passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam and a state exam in order to be credentialed. They are also generally required to attend a set number of continuing education courses each year to keep up with changes in veterinary medicine. Veterinary technicians are educated in veterinary anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, animal husbandry, surgical assisting, anesthesia, medical nursing, diagnostics such as radiology and ultrasonography, clinical pathology, parasitology, medical terminology and record keeping, biological collection and sample handling and preperation, etc. They can also specialize in areas such as emergency and critical care, internal medicine, anesthesia, dentistry, behavior and equine nursing. The AVMA has accredited 9 distance education programs, so if you cannot attend a college locally you can still get a degree in veterinary technology and become credentialed as a veterinary technician. These distance education programs must meet exactly the same requirements on topics covered, hands on skills taught and number of hours of hands-on experience students must receive as the on-site schools. However you need to realize that you are going to be required to work more than 240 hours in a veterinary clinic under the supervision of a licensed veterinary technician and/or credentialed veterinary technician in order to complete the degree program. Going in and getting a job in a clinic where the vet or his staff is going to have to spend an extensive amount of time on your training, testing, signing off on skills, etc is not easy so these online program are typically better options for people who are already working in a clinic as a veterinary assistant. "Practical veterinary experience that expands student knowledge and builds proficiency of acquired skills through task-specific exercises is a required portion of the curriculum. These experiences are usually termed preceptorships, practicums, internships, or externships and are for the purpose of honing skills learned in the more formal instructional settings. These practical experiences should be a minimum cumulative 240 contact hours and must be monitored by the program director or the director's appointee who must be a program faculty or staff member."--AVMA standards of accreditation http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/cvtea_standards.asp You should really consider multiple programs rather than just going with Penn Foster. There is simply too much negative press out there for that program. The American Veterinary Medical Association maintains a list of accredited degree programs on their website: http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/vettech_programs/vettech_programs.asp You will just have to contact the programs you are interested in to see if they will accept your diploma. Each school will set it's own rules on that so there isn't a single easy answer. You should also contact your state's veterinary technician association for details on becoming a veterinary technician in your state.