FAQs

The Academy’s courses are designed to provide you with a directed learning pathway in a particular subject area. Each course will identify which veterinary professionals it is suitable for. Learning outcome will also support you to select the courses relevant to your role and learning needs.

Enrolling with the RCVS means that we will keep a record of your credits, wherever you achieve them. It also enables us to keep in touch with you and let you know about any new developments, modules or courses. Please note that you cannot earn credits towards an RCVS qualification unless you are enrolled with us.

As a result of concerns arising on the programme later in 2023, an accreditation event was triggered which took place in May 2024. The accreditation report showed that there was evidence that a wide range of accreditation standards were not being met by the Department in relation to the degree programme. All accreditation reports are published on our website.

Considering the Cambridge report, the RCVS Primary Qualifications Subcommittee and Education Committee agreed that the concerns about the programme were sufficiently significant that they needed to be addressed quickly, to prevent further risk to students’ learning and experience. For these reasons, on 19 November 2024 the programme was awarded ‘conditional accreditation’ with the need for the department to address the standards not currently being met by September 2025.

Candidates have the option of taking written re-sit written exams in May, if they failed the written exam in March.

Please see section 6 of the SME guidance

Assuming the veterinary professional is in attendance, their barrister (or the veterinary professional themselves if they are not legally represented) may then ask you questions about your statement or the incident(s) in question. We cannot predict what questions you will be asked (or how many) but it could be about anything that is relevant to the case. The questioning is controlled by the RCVS barrister, the legal assessor and/or the Chair of the DC who may intervene if they think a line of questioning is inappropriate.

There may also be questions from the DC itself. Again, we cannot predict what questions (or how many) will be asked. Sometimes there will be a short break whilst the DC consider what questions to ask and they may even leave the hearing room to discuss in more detail. During this break you will not be able to talk to anyone as you are still giving evidence.

You may be eligible for a discretionary refund of some or all of the exam fee (excluding administration costs).

You must submit your request in writing, along with documentary evidence to support the medical or compassionate grounds cited, no later than 6 days after the part of the examination that you missed.

It is likely that the veterinary professional will be present at the hearing. You should only encounter them in a relatively formal setting (i.e. inside the hearing), not whilst you are waiting or preparing to give evidence. If you feel at all uncomfortable about these arrangements, either before attending the hearing, or on the day, please let us know.

We can reimburse reasonable expenses for travel, accommodation and food but we will require you to submit an expense claim form together with receipts for such expenses. Details of the maximum amounts that will be reimbursed are on the expense claim form. If you have any queries about what you can claim, please let us know.

Additionally, if you think you will incur a direct loss of earnings as a result of attending the hearing, please let us know so this can be discussed in more detail.

If you withdraw before the application closing date of 14 January: The exam fee will be refunded but not the administration costs

Withdrawals made more than 28 days before the examination - Half the exam fee will be refunded but not the administration costs

If you withdraw 28 days or fewer before the first examination date, then you will not be entitled to a refund.

Yes. The 1CPD app includes a ‘Help’ section within the app’s menu with tips and advice on how to use it.

Since it’s a new platform we’re keen to hear any feedback you might have. You can submit feedback by selecting this option in the app’s menu and sending us an email. This feature is available in the web version too.

You can also contact us directly at [email protected] with any questions regarding the 1CPD platform.

For general CPD enquiries, please email us at [email protected].