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Presented by the Veterinary Faculty of Cordoba in September 2009 Córdoba (Spain) Design: Alberto Cara Printed: Digital Asus Depósito legal: 0000000 Self Evaluation Report :: VETERINARY FACULTY OF CORDOBA :: 2009 3 EX D Chapter 0 INTRODUCTION 005 Chapter I OBJECTIVES 013 IN Chapter II ORGANISATION 027 Chapter III FINANCES 063 Chapter IV CURRICULUM 073 Chapter V TEACHING AND LEARNING: QUALITY AND EVALUATION 121 Chapter VI FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT 155 Chapter VII ANIMALS AND TEACHING MATERIAL OF ANIMAL ORIGIN 179 Chapter VIII LIBRARY AND LEARNING RESOURCES 197 Chapter IX STUDENT ADMISSION AND ENROLMENT 217 Chapter X ACADEMIC AND SUPPORT STAFF 235 Chapter XI CONTINUING EDUCATION 263 Chapter XII POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION 273 Chapter XIII RESEARCH 289 Acknowledgement 296 Self Evaluation Report :: VETERINARY FACULTY OF CORDOBA :: 2009 5 Chapter 0 INTRODUCTION Chapter 0 INTRODUCTION 7 The University of Córdoba Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is the only veterinary training centre in Andalusia, an autonomous region of southern Spain comprising eight provinces and over eight million inha- bitants. Since it was first founded as the Subaltern Veterinary School, by Royal Order of 19 August 1847, the centre has trained 160 years of graduates: 75 farriers, 349 second-class veterinarians and 8,203 veterinarians. Main organisational changes One of the main organisational changes since the first visit by the EAE- VE experts has been the transfer of all veterinary teaching departments to the University Campus at Rabanales, where veterinary students now receive the whole of their tuition. Other University faculties have also moved out to the Campus, which means that certain facilities and services are now shared: these include the classroom blocks, the laboratories, the Assembly Hall, the Library, the Hall of Residence, the cen- tral research support service, catering outlets, and sports and main- tenance facilities. By sharing facilities with other faculties, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine now has access to more resources at a much lower cost. Recent years have also seen the development of a closer relation- ship with the Government and with public and private institutions. This growing cooperation has led to the signing of a whole range of agreements enabling students to undertake compulsory external pre- professional internships, through which they have gained first-hand experience of professional practice, under the supervision of professional veterinarians employed as associate staff by the Faculty. A number of qualified practising veterinarians have also been contracted as part- time lecturers, bringing to their classes their own experience in the fields of Animal Health and Production, Food Inspection and Hygiene, and Clinical Sciences. Finally, the Faculty has undergone certain structural modifications in order to bring tuition into line with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This has led to the creation of a new Vice-Deanship responsible for coordinating measures designed to carry out the adaptation requi- red (ECTS credits, teaching innovations, quality assurance systems). A number of new posts have also been created: Pilot Experiment Degree Coordinator, External Pre-professional Internships Coordinator, Course Coordinator, Academic Adviser and Academic Tutor/ Workplace Tutor for Internships. 8 Self Evaluation Report :: VETERINARY FACULTY OF CORDOBA :: 2009 New regulations relating to teaching The centralised educational administration originally formulated by the Spanish Parliament has been replaced by a decentralised model in which responsibility for educational matters has been divided: the Mi- nistry of Education retains legislative power and the responsibility for coordinating the Spanish Education System as a whole, while the various autonomous regional governments, such as the Andalusian Re- gional Government, are politically responsible for the funding of public universities and also for minor legislative measures. Over the last few years, legislation regarding Higher Education in Spain has undergone several changes intended to facilitate adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) created by the Declaration of Bologna (1999) and based on quality, mobility, diversity and competi- tiveness in University Education. An earlier Law on University Reform (Ley de Reforma Universitaria, LRU) was replaced by the Organic Law on Universities (Ley Orgánica de Universidades, LOU), which was passed by Congress in December 2001. The implementation of this law has prompted considerable modifications in the structure of different University Bodies, defining new academic posts and new systems of access to them. This law also created the Spanish Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (ANECA) for the Evaluation of teaching and research quality. The law also provided for the creation of the Andalusian Agency for University Quality Assurance. In accordance with one of the objectives of the Bologna Declaration, an amendment of this law was approved in April 2007, establishing two cycles, graduate and postgraduate, in the Hig- her Education system. Other objectives based on the Declarations of Bologna (1999), Prague (2001), Berlin (2003) and Bergen (2005) were provided for by new regulations regarding the implementation of the European Credit Trans- fer System (ECTS), the new system of academic marks, the European Supplement to the Degree, and the recognition of foreign Degrees. New Buildings or major items of equipment The transfer of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to the University Campus at Rabanales has prompted wide-ranging structural changes, since the various Departments involved in the teaching of Veterinary Sciences are now located in a number of buildings, some of which are specifically for Veterinary studies, while others are shared with other fa- Chapter 0 INTRODUCTION 9 culties. This has allowed access to a larger number of classrooms and laboratories, thus facilitating the organisation of teaching activities; it has also enabled tuition in small and medium-sized groups. Moreover, a number of additional teaching facilities have been completed and are now fully operational. For example, the following improvements have been carried out at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital: • Creation of a hospitalisation area for horses with infectious diseases • Increased number of stalls. • Adaptation of a teaching room with four positions enabling simul- taneous examination and surgery for small animals. • Implementation of a recording and screening system in operating theatres for large and small animals. • The adaptation of an area intended as a Breeding Centre is now in its final phase. • Improvement of the hospital reception and waiting area. • Creation of a pharmacy. Newly-built facilities include three livestock sheds, a small-ruminant module measuring 207 square metres and a highly-versatile, multipur- pose shed measuring 352 square metres. These buildings, together with a cowshed which is shortly to be built, make up the Rabanales University Farm. A new University Animal Nutrition Centre has been built. This is an experimental centre for practical training in feeding and nutrition in small ruminants and rabbits, with the following facilities: • Small-ruminants room • Rabbit digestibility room • Diet and feed preparation room An Equine Sports Medicine Centre has been completed. It is equipped with the following facilities: • Twelve stalls for horses 10 Self Evaluation Report :: VETERINARY FACULTY OF CORDOBA :: 2009 • Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratories • Treadmill Room • Hypoxic chamber • Enclosed three-layer sand track measuring 70 x 30 m • Walking area • Enclosed sand riding area An Animal House has been built as part of the University Experimental Animals Centre, equipped with: • Research facilities • Cat and dog unit • Minipig unit The Food Technology Pilot Plant, specially designed for the pro- cessing and control of foods for human consumption, has been fully equipped. In addition to these facilities, all classrooms have been equipped with a computer with internet access and a projector; the classroom block has been enlarged, and new laboratories and IT rooms have been built; the Library has been enlarged, a new Degree Room and several mul- tipurpose rooms have been built for a range of cultural and scientific activities. Main changes to the study programme Following the introduction of the 1996 syllabus (in accordance with Royal Decree 1384/91 and European Directive 1027/78), and its subsequent analysis by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, a number of changes were made with a view to reducing the number of optional hours for optional subjects and increasing the number of hours for core subjects. A new subject entitled Veterinary Management has been introduced in the final year of the degree course, following one of the recommendations made at the previous visit, and another subject covering the management of animals of veterinary interest has been introduced with the aim of enabling students to work with animals from the first year onwards. Organisation of the tuition in various sub- Chapter 0 INTRODUCTION 11 jects has been modified to increase the number of hands-on practical hours: • Propedeutics is now taught on a wholly practical basis. • Increase in the number of practical training sessions in slaughter- houses and food inspection premises. • Practical ambulatory clinical training. • Practical sessions in animal behaviour on farms and in zoos. • Practical sessions on castration

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