Section 6: VMCVM and University Policies
6.1 FERPA Waiver
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Schools must have written permission, in the form of the FERPA Waiver, in order to release any information from a student’s education record. This means that anytime you ask for a letter of recommendation from a faculty member or need a letter of good academic standing, or other information about your academic performance, you will need to have a FERPA waiver on file. If you choose to sign a waiver allowing anyone to view your records, you need to understand the implication of that decision.
Schools may disclose, without consent, “directory” information such as a student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. You must submit a request to the university within a reasonable period of time, in order for the school to not disclose directory information about you.
6.2 Proper Use of Electronic Media
Posting of material relating to any client, patient, teaching or research animal in any form to any public/social networking site is strictly forbidden and will be considered a violation of the Professional Code of Conduct. Students are required to maintain and respect client and patient confidentiality as well as respecting the dignity of all animals and their owners whether by photography, video, or written word.
All materials (such as Mp3 recordings, class notes/handouts, videos, slide preparations, etc.) posted on Scholar and other VMCVM educational resources are solely for the use of our students for educational purposes. They should not be copied or distributed to anyone outside of the VMCVM without the prior written approval of the author/instructor.
Numerous social networking sites are used by veterinary students. As professional students, you are encouraged to “think before you post” to these sites. These sites are available to the public for many years, and posting inappropriate personal material may be harmful to your professional goals, your veterinary career, or the reputation of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
6.3 Visitors and Tours
The facility is a hospital and client-owned animals must be the priority. All tours and/or visitors must be approved by the Director of Admissions and Student Support.
There are areas within the hospital where visitors are not allowed and all tours should be restricted to the major hallways. Special attention should be given when entering the large animal barn so as to not disturb horses.
Additionally, family members, especially children, are not allowed in the restricted areas of the VTH. These restricted areas include anywhere animals are examined, housed, and treated. All laboratory and diagnostic imaging areas are restricted.
6.4 Motor Vehicles and Parking
Students will comply with all University rules and regulations pertaining to the registration and operation of motor vehicles. In order to park on campus, students must purchase the appropriate parking permit through VT Parking and Transportation each academic year. All vehicles, motorcycles, and motor scooters on campus are required to be registered with Parking and Transportation. Vehicles parked on property that receives service from Parking and Transportation are required to display a parking permit (government vehicles excluded). For more information please visit the Parking and Transportation website.
6.5 Pet Animals
College regulations prohibit students from bringing pet animals into college buildings except for attendance at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, in which case all policies and procedures pertaining to client-owned animals will apply. On rare occasions, student-owned animals may be used in specific courses or student club/organization events, but these will be approved by the Associate Dean for Professional Programs. At these times pets will be restricted to the places and activities as outlined in the course syllabus or the request for usage of College facilities e.g., MDL labs.
Pets should not be tied in the vicinity of entrances or walkways to buildings. Owners of uncontrolled pets found in any of these areas will be asked to remove the pet.
6.6 Service Animals
The College adheres to the policies regarding Service Animals developed by Virginia Tech’s Division of Student Affairs, Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Their Guidelines on Service Animals can be found here.
Requests for service animals will be processed by SSD, who will work with the Associate Dean for Professional Programs and the Director of Admissions and Student Support to specifically define the accommodations in the pre-clinical and clinical programs on a case-by-case basis.
6.7 Electronic and Printed Materials
Students should be aware of the VT policy on copyright (policy 1300). Furthermore, most materials generated by faculty for their courses (e.g., lecture notes/handouts, PowerPoint slides, images, videos, Mp3 recordings, materials placed on Canvas or other sites containing course material e.g., YouTube, etc.) are solely for the use of DVM students for educational purposes.
They are considered copyright of the College and the University and cannot be reproduced or distributed unless express written permission has been obtained from the author or member of faculty involved.
Students are also encouraged to read the College’s Information Technology Policies and Procedures, which are available on the college intranet. As a note you may need to log in to the intranet and copy this link into your browser for access.