1b. Goals and objectives are based on current research and successful practice.

As mentioned in the course description, our courses do not strictly follow the competencies due to the curriculum review and state approval of a science credit. The documentation sent to the state is attached as well as links to the VERSO competencies.

Animal Science Industry Trends

The animal science industry includes a wide range of professions and our program is designed with this range in mind. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) groups some careers together, so some animal related careers are not identified individually. However, according to the online Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-11 Edition (OOH), all animal related careers are growing in the next eight years at average or above average rates. If the career is separated out from all others, the OOH has a data chart with job numbers and percentages of increase. If the career is grouped with other jobs there is a brief description with general predictions. The animal related career groups that are reported separately are: Veterinarians; Animal Care and Service Workers; Animal Scientists, Veterinary Technologists and Technicians; and Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists. The percentage of growth, over the next eight years, for these careers ranges from 13% to 36%. Although there is a range of how much growth will occur all of the animal related careers are growing. The Animal Control Workers, and Veterinary Assistants & Laboratory Animal Caretakers are grouped with other careers for the formal projections but the OOH does pull them out for growth projections. Animal Control Workers are expected to have average growth while Veterinary Assistants & Laboratory Animal Caretakers are expected to have better that average growth. The BLS also listed Veterinary Technologist and Technicians as the 13^th fastest growing career and veterinarians as the 18^th fastest. See Appendix A for BLS charts and data.

See the attached document for a list of resources used in the classes. Many of the documents used in the program are teacher generated.

Interacting With Industry

The Animal Science Program meets with industry partners regularly. Most of these meetings are informal. Every year we place students in internships and jobs with our partners. When we are placing students we also discuss the performance of past students and how the curricula meets the needs of our partners. We speak regularly with our partners at the National Zoo, Cherrydale Veterinary Clinic, Your Dog’s Best Friend (a doggie daycare), and Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center.

We also have some of our partners speak either to our classes or to the after school FFA club. When the speakers are with us, we have plenty of time to talk with them. We typically give them a tour of the lab and seek their opinions about the program and curricula as well as how we can help them. We regularly have speakers from the National Park Service, local nature centers, Covance and the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.

Instructors from the Jefferson Community College in New York have also visited our program. They offer an Animal Management degree. We met with them to solicit their opinion of our program as well as discuss possible articulation or dual enrollment possibilities.

Our advisory committee has been in decline the past few years. However, with the addition of new partners and with former students working in the field locally, we are in the process of renewing the committee. Since formal meeting times can be hard for all members to attend we will be trying a combination of physical and virtual meetings to be held at least twice a year.