Living the 2+2 Program Reality

By: Jennafer Glaesemann

Iowa State Univeristy by-way-of University of Nebraska, Class of 2012

Consider 25 students, approximately 30 faculty and staff members, 2 classrooms and 3 teaching laboratories, and 3 student organizations... and then 120 students, approximately 500 faculty and staff members, over 565,000 square feet in the largest academic building of its respective university, and 33 student organizations.  Then consider being separated by 223 miles and approximately 3.5 hours, depending on construction, road conditions, and the foot on the accelerator.  When the new kids on the block enter the playground of one of the oldest public veterinary schools in the nation, these two groups are thrown together in a maelstrom guaranteed to produce sparks.  Those sparks have instigated an innovative educational design that is spreading like wildfire in the veterinary education field as institutions struggle to balance resource constraints with societal demands for increased numbers of veterinarians.

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"2+2" Programs to Boost Enrollment

By: Stephanie Silberstang

Cornell University, Class of 2013

The “2+2” programs are being considered by universities in the hopes that they will allow more students to enroll per year, increasing the number of veterinarians graduating every year. These programs can be one way of addressing the shortage of veterinarians nationwide. The “2+2” programs have obvious advantages but also have a few hurdles to overcome before these programs can be successful.

Advantages of the “2+2” program include a larger number of graduating veterinarians without having to build new facilities or larger class rooms. These programs also allow students to take advantage of any state-of-the-art facilities that exist at either or both of the universities they attend during the program in addition to allowing them the ability to experience two different teaching faculties. These programs can theoretically be taught at any college with veterinary professors on staff and the space for this group of students for 2 years.

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