The University’s General Board has decided not to pause admissions to its Veterinary Medicine course after students, staff, and trade unions staged a rally outside Senate House to ‘Save the Vet School’ on Tuesday (04/03).

The General Board decided to continue admitting vet students for the 2026/27 academic year, despite the course’s accreditation being at risk after it failed to meet 50 out of 77 of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ (RCVS) standards.

The decision was reached in a General Board meeting on Wednesday afternoon (05/03). Professor Paul Freeman, Principal Clinical Neurologist at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, told Varsity that, “On the face of it that is very good news.”

However, he explained that he “would like to see more detail of what the General Board has actually said. What staff at QVSH [The Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital] really need to hear is that the University is willing to support the continued teaching of veterinary students through a high quality research based referral hospital, and that this is a realistic possibility here at Cambridge.”

“Without that assurance the uncertainty remains for many staff at the hospital following the interim report to the General Board in November. I am however at least confident we will regain full accreditation from the RCVS in September following this decision given the work being undertaken at the QVSH,” he continued.

The RCVS graded the course with “conditional accreditation” in November 2024, with the course running the risk of losing its accreditation entirely unless the Department improves by the RCVS’s next visit in September 2025.

As a result, students in the middle of their degrees face the possibility of being transferred to other universities or alternative private clinical providers to see out their clinical studies.

Sarah Murphy and Emily Moon, co-presidents of the Cambridge University Veterinary Society told Varsity: “We are really pleased about yesterday’s decision not to pause admissions for the veterinary course and hope the University’s future decisions continue in the same spirit of supporting the Vet School. The only way to go forth is as a united front, not least with the Royal College accreditation visit incoming in September.”

They expressed their appreciation for “the ongoing support and dedication of the Vet School staff,” alongside the campaign organisers “whose efforts have been invaluable and are clearly reflected in the outcome”. They also noted that they “appreciate the support from the BVA [British Veterinary Association] and feel reassured by their recent statement”.

A spokesperson for the University said: “We can confirm that admissions to Veterinary Medicine for 2026 entry will proceed as planned. The University recognises the progress being made by the department on its accreditation plan.”

The General Board gave the Veterinary Department “around four weeks” to outline a plan to address accreditation concerns in November 2024, which the Department is now raising as a matter of concern to the University’s Council.

A Notice submitted by 86 members of Regent House on 4 March questioned “reasonable processes” within the University regarding the length of time it has taken for the General Board’s Veterinary School Review Group to produce a report following its establishment in May 2023.

The Notice asked whether it was “reasonable for the General Board to ask the Department to develop an alternative option for clinical course delivery within four weeks when its own Review Group has, so far, taken over 20 months to report”.

The Department’s report was expected to include “external assurance by early March 2025 that there was no likelihood of a terminal accreditation decision following the RCVS visit in September 2025, and that all RCVS recommendations could be appropriately addressed.”

Yet the recent Notice questioned why the General Board asked “for an external assurance of accreditation from the Department, when that is in essence an impossible condition to meet six months before the RCVS return visit?”.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has also called for an “urgent meeting” with the University over the Vet School’s future, noting the “crucial role” that the Cambridge Vet School plays in “producing a healthy pipeline” of veterinary professionals.

Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux, president of the BVA stated: “The ongoing uncertainty around the future of Cambridge will be hugely concerning for students, alumni and staff, as well as the wider veterinary profession.”

Responding to the General Board’s decision not to pause admissions, representatives from Unite the Union told Varsity: “It is a welcoming indication that the threat of closure is averted for the time being. It is an initial win for the staff and students who came together to challenge university management’s threats to the future of their jobs and education.”

In a joint statement, the Students’ Union undergraduate president Sarah Anderson and the access, education, and participation officer Katie Clarke said: “We were delighted to support the General Board’s decision not to pause VetMed admissions for 2027. We’ve heard repeatedly from students about the value of the vet course at this University, and how demoralising a pause could have been to the brilliant staff who have already been working so hard to address the concerns of the RCVS.”

“This decision shows real confidence in the Department, its staff, and its students, and demonstrates that by working together, students can make their voices heard at the highest levels of the University. Our thanks again to everyone who signed the open letter and attended the rallies on Tuesday and Wednesday,” they continued.

Last week, multiple trade unions issued an open letter urging the University “not to pause Undergraduate admissions” and to focus on “financial investment in facilities and staffing”. The letter suggested that “the University’s lack of clear communication […] has left many students concerned about the implications for their future employability”.

According to the letter, the potential actions of transferring students to another institution for their clinical years, fulfilling teaching requirements through partnerships with external “private sector” providers, or closing admissions to the Veterinary Medicine course to new entrants from 2026 “put over 160 jobs at risk, creating tremendous stress for staff and extreme anxiety for hundreds of current and future students”.

While admissions will no longer be paused, concerns remain about the Department’s future longevity, with representatives from Unite the Union telling Varsity that “the threat of privatisation and outsourcing still looms over the staff,” explaining that “there is more work to do in response to the RCVS’s recommendation”.

At the rally on Tuesday, one staff member told Varsity that an assessment conducted by the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), who also accredit the University’s vet course last week revealed a “stark” contrast between that report, and the RCVS’s.

This separate report recognised the improvements that have already been made and “commended” the Vet School on “many of the things that were not really understood by the RCVS recently”.

This comes after suggestions that the University is prioritising “profit-seeking” over education, with a joint statement released by the trade unions University of Cambridge Unite the Union, Unison University of Cambridge, and University of Cambridge UCU stating: “Any University aiming to provide academic excellence should never be organised around profit-seeking principles, especially related to the privatisation of teaching provision through outsourcing to external providers.”

In November, it was revealed that the Veterinary Medicine course is running at an unsustainable “recurrent deficit of more than £1M” amid a projected overall deficit of £53 million for the University in 2023/4.