Registration Closed • Fall 2026 Cohort

Vet Tech New Faculty Academy

Great clinicians are not born teachers.

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

Tuesdays • 7:00 to 8:15 pm Eastern

Registration for the Fall 2026 cohort is closed

Interested in a future cohort? Let us know

Thank you. Our first cohort is set.

Nearly 50 new faculty from programs across the country signed on for the first Vet Tech New Faculty Academy. We start Tuesday, October 13. Registered and have a question before then? Reach us at [email protected].

Why this exists

New veterinary technology faculty arrive with deep clinical expertise. Most were never taught how to teach. They need to learn course design, assessment, how to read a room full of students, and how to teach in a world with AI. Nobody hands you those.

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, 7:00 to 8:15 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.
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 Closed for the Fall 2026 cohort. Thank you to everyone who signed on.

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 & Technical College AVTE & Stockton U. 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, 7:00 to 8:15 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 that surfaces the real classroom problem the module solves.

Live session, Tuesdays at 7:00 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. A companion Resource Exchange space opens when the module goes live and stays open through AVTE 2027.

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 go-to resource when something in your classroom isn't working.

The per-module Resource Exchange rooms keep the conversation going long after each session and stay open from October through the 2027 AVTE Annual Conference. You leave with more than new skills. You leave with colleagues.

Registration is closed

Thank you to the nearly 50 new faculty who make up our first cohort. If you missed this one and want to hear about the next, send us a note, and we will keep you in the loop.

Keep Me Posted →

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.