Vet Tech New Faculty Academy

Excellent clinicians can become excellent teachers.

Eight weeks online, October 13 to December 8. A practical teaching foundation for veterinary technology faculty who came to the classroom from clinical practice.

Tuesdays • 6:00 to 7:15 pm Eastern

$100 • Invoice and purchase order options available

Almost 50 of your colleagues are already in.

New faculty from programs across the country have signed on for the first cohort. We start Tuesday, October 13, and registration closes before that first session. Prep work is due beforehand, and your mentor group starts building trust from day one.

Why this exists

New veterinary technology faculty arrive with deep clinical expertise, and many have the instincts of excellent teachers. What most haven't had yet is the chance to train in how to teach. Course design, assessment, reading a room full of students, and now teaching in a world with AI. Nobody hands you those on day one.

The Academy fills that gap. It is a practical, cohort-based foundation in teaching, built for faculty coming from clinical backgrounds without graduate-level education training, learning alongside colleagues and mentors who have done the work. This is One Community in practice.

At a glance

When	Tuesdays, 6:00 to 7:15 pm Eastern. October 13 through December 8, with Thanksgiving week off.
Format	Fully online. Eight 75-minute live sessions, each recorded and posted within 24 hours.
Home base	Canvas. Prep activities, session recordings, mentor group breakouts, and module discussion rooms all live there.
Structure	Seven topic modules plus a flex and catch-up week. Roughly two hours a week, total.
Certificate	Certificate of completion for finishing six of the seven topic modules.
Who it's for	New vet tech faculty, coordinators, and instructors from clinical backgrounds.
Registration	$100. Invoice and purchase order options are available. Registration closes before the first session on October 13.

Meet your faculty

Every module is led by a colleague who has done this work in their own classroom. They are not here to lecture. They are here to share what works, what didn't, and what they wish someone had told them in year one.

Oct 13	Pedagogy Tammy Schneider Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology
Oct 20	The New Student Experience Rebecca Newman, Laura Neely, and Todd Von Deak Appalachian State University • Owensboro Community and Technical College • AVTE and Stockton University School of Business
Oct 27	Universal Design for Learning Trisha Shanteau Southern Union State Community College
Nov 3	Classroom Management Lori Renda-Francis Appalachian State University
Nov 10	Assessment Karina Taylor Collin College • 2023 Margi Sirois Veterinary Technician Educator of the Year
Nov 17	VTNE and CVTEA Standards Laura Black San Juan College
Dec 1	AI and Teaching Stephanie Self Owensboro Community and Technical College
Dec 8	Flex and Catch-Up Week Rebecca Newman and Laura Neely Co-Directors

Your Co-Directors

Rebecca and Laura host every session, keep the cohort connected week to week, and lead the flex week on December 8.

Rebecca Newman
Appalachian State University

Laura Neely
Owensboro Community and Technical College

The schedule

Every session runs Tuesday, 6:00 to 7:15 pm Eastern. Each module pairs a short prep activity with the live session, then a follow-up you apply to your own course.

OCT 13	Pedagogy with Tammy Schneider How adults learn, and how to design your teaching around it.
OCT 20	The New Student Experience with the Co-Directors and Todd Von Deak Know your learner, including wellness, belonging, and what shapes how they show up.
OCT 27	Universal Design for Learning with Trisha Shanteau Reduce barriers and build flexible pathways so every learner can access the course.
NOV 3	Classroom Management with Lori Renda-Francis Structure, pace, and run the room across lecture, lab, and clinical settings.
NOV 10	Assessment with Karina Taylor Measure what matters. Backward design and assessments you can trust.
NOV 17	VTNE and CVTEA Standards with Laura Black How your course outcomes ladder up to program competencies and VTNE preparation.
NOV 24	No session. Enjoy Thanksgiving.
DEC 1	AI and Teaching with Stephanie Self Augment your practice. The benefits, the risks, the ethics, and a clear course AI policy.
DEC 8	Flex and Catch-Up Week with the Co-Directors Make up a module, then build your personal teaching action plan.

See the full syllabus

Session objectives, weekly structure, faculty, mentorship, and program policies, all in one document.

Download the Syllabus (PDF) →

Schedule and faculty are subject to change.

How each week works

Prep: 30 to 45 minutes. A short activity in Canvas that surfaces the real classroom problem the module solves.

Live session, Tuesdays at 6:00 pm Eastern. Seventy-five minutes with that week's faculty, hosted by the Co-Directors, built around discussion rather than lecture. We record every session and post it within 24 hours.

Follow-up: 20 minutes. Apply it to your own course.

Discussion room. Each module has a companion discussion room in Canvas that opens when the module goes live and stays open for the rest of the Academy.

You will not do this alone

Before the first session, you are placed in a small mentor group of three to five, led by an experienced educator who stays with you through the term. That group is your peer cohort and your go-to resource when something in your classroom isn't working. Your group's breakouts run in Canvas, and you start together on night one.

When the Academy wraps in December, the conversation doesn't end. It moves to the AVTE Resource Exchange, open through the 2027 AVTE Annual Conference. You leave with more than new skills. You leave with colleagues.

Don't miss out

Almost 50 new faculty are already registered, and we start Tuesday, October 13. Registration is $100, closes before that first session, and begins with a quick login to your AVTE account.

Questions? [email protected] or 888-859-8832

The Vet Tech New Faculty Academy is an AVTE program. One Community, at every stage of the walk forward.