Section 3: Classrooms, Facilities, and Personnel

3.1 Classrooms

Classroom and laboratory spaces, including the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, are professional areas. As well as use by DVM students, classrooms are frequently used for graduate and undergraduate courses, meetings, and formal or informal Continuing Education Programs or for extension purposes. Therefore, it is incumbent on all users of the classrooms to maintain a professional appearance. All personal items including backpacks, blankets, books, pencils/pens, computers, cups, coffee mugs, etc. must be removed at the end of the student’s last lecture for the day, unless otherwise requested e.g., lunchtime lectures/seminars may require earlier removal of these items. In these cases, the class will be notified by Academic Affairs and compliance with these requests is expected. Appropriate storage will be provided for white coats/lab coats. Lab coats must not be left elsewhere in the classroom. Student clubs or other organizations cannot leave items in the classroom. Items owned by these club/organizations must be stored in designated areas. Items not removed, or properly stored, will be collected and potentially discarded. Appliances such as coffee makers, microwaves, etc. are not permitted in classrooms. In addition, ottomans or other large storage devices are not permitted in the classrooms.

3.2 Laboratories

3.2.1 Safety Considerations within Laboratories

Laboratory spaces within the CVM are supervised by the Multidisciplinary Laboratory (MDL) staff. The requirements for specific laboratories within the CVM may differ, but as a general rule whenever students are in a laboratory, they are required to wear clean, appropriate laboratory attire (e.g., Lab coats) and nametags. No open-toed shoes are permitted in any laboratory spaces. Eating, drinking, and use of tobacco products are prohibited at all times.

The laboratory spaces should be kept clean. Trash must be placed in the appropriate receptacles. Spills should be immediately cleaned and tables should be cleaned and sanitized at the end of the lab. For most scheduled labs, MDL staff will assign students to assist with additional cleanup duties. This is a requirement, not optional.

Personal belongings (coats, hats, backpacks, etc) must be placed in lockers or in cubicles outside the laboratory area. Do not place belongings on floors of labs or hallways.

Note locations of first aid boxes and safety equipment. 

Report accidents or injuries to faculty immediately and complete the appropriate form as provided by MDL staff.

3.2.2 Student Responsibilities within Laboratories

Specific laboratory requirements such as clothing, must be adhered to for each of the laboratory spaces in the College. These are outlined in the course syllabus for each of the courses using laboratory space.

No eating or drinking is allowed in any of the laboratory spaces.

Each year, students may be issued items such as bone sets, slides, equipment, and keys. Students are responsible for maintaining these items. Items must be returned upon request. In addition, students are responsible for the cost of replacing items that are lost or damaged.

Students are welcome and encouraged to use the laboratory facilities “after hours”. Please ensure that all items used are appropriately secured upon leaving. The lab must be left clean. Report any damages to MDL staff immediately.

3.3 Class Listservs

The College reserves access to class listservs for faculty and staff, and for issues related to academic and/or student affairs. Students do not have access to these listservs and will not be granted access to them for any reason. If students wish to create a class listserv, it will be up to the individual classes to develop communications workflow, through by-laws and/or class policies, as they relate to appropriate communication and the use of social media. Should students need to communicate to classes outside their own, they need to talk to or email the class leader(s) of the class(es) they wish to contact to obtain access to their listserv(s).

3.4 Administrative Requests

On multiple occasions students will be requested to respond to administrative deadlines for items, such as enrollment, drop/add, rabies information, scholarships and awards. These deadlines are firm and are necessary for the college and university to function effectively. Time spent following up on students who do not respond means time not available to assist students with other requests. An enrollment “hold” will be placed on any student who does not respond to the deadline, and an email will be sent to the student to inform them of this hold. The consequences of an enrollment “hold” include an inability to add/drop courses, all grades being withheld, and being unable to progress until resolution of the “hold”.

3.5 Study Spaces

There are many spaces and rooms available throughout the College facilities, as well as the University, for study when students are not in class or after hours. These spaces include open areas where seating is provided, as well as meeting rooms and classrooms. Students are welcome to use these spaces for either independent or group study when they are not being used by other members of the College.

However, there are some rules that must be adhered to in order to use these spaces:

The space can only be used for study if it is not being used by faculty or staff for meetings or teaching/research activities. If you would like to know the schedule of any space that is available for student study (see points 5-8 below) please contact the 2nd Classroom Experience Support Specialist. 

Eating and drinking is allowed in most spaces (for exceptions see below) but the spaces must be left clean and tidy after student use. This includes throwing out all garbage in appropriate receptacles and returning the room to its previous order. In addition, on rainy days/weekends, please clean your shoes before you use the rooms, or clean any mud from the floors that results from its use. If these actions do not occur, then the space(s) will no longer be available for student use. 

If the space contains a whiteboard, MDL will supply whiteboard markers and erasers for these spaces. The students must erase and clean the whiteboard at the end of their session. If there are insufficient whiteboard markers and erasers in the rooms, students must contact Mel Kegley.

The following spaces ARE NOT AVAILABLE for student study within the CVM include:

• Dean’s Board Room (near the Dean’s suite) 
• The Veterinary Teaching Hospital, including all seminar rooms except for seminar rooms 1 and 2 in the corridor between the Commons and the Small Animal Reception Area.
• Faculty and Staff Offices
• Research Labs 
• Animal Housing/Holding Facilities

The spaces that ARE AVAILABLE for student study within the CVM and the University include: 

• Classrooms 125 and its Lounge area, Classrooms 100 and 102, and the VMIA Classroom 
• Conference Room 343, Conference Rooms B and C, Conference Rooms 121 A and B, IDRF 131 and 135 
• Seminar Rooms 1 and 2 in the VTH 
• Graduate Conference Room (Rm 291), Rooms 231 and 232; and the Commons and Commons Extension (Waterfall room) are also available but have some conditions applied (see points 6-8) 
• Hallway in Phase 3 
• VT Newman Library (includes Graduate Study spaces for individual study as well as group study) 
• VT Torgersen Hall and Bridge, which included an atrium with electronic hookups that serves as an electronic study court. 

The Graduate Conference Room (Rm 291) can only be used if a reservation is made by the student(s) before their study session. This reservation will be made through Second Classroom Experience Support Specialist. Occasionally, the student reservation may be canceled due to rescheduling faculty meetings/seminars. The student will be emailed in these situations. ✓ No eating or drinking is allowed in this space. 

Rooms 231 and 232 can be used when not in official use i.e., when there is a green light on the room monitor. These rooms can only be used for quiet, individual study (not group study) as the noise impacts adjacent rooms which are occupied by residents and house officers who are also studying. 

The Commons and Commons Extension (Waterfall Room) are designed to be flexible, easy-to-transform spaces for both groups as well as individual study. In the Commons Extension (Waterfall Room) the large monitors at opposing ends of the room allow for presentations and the one nearest the Commons is also capable of connecting to multiple computing devices. ✓ In order to accommodate students wishing to work in groups as well as those wanting to undertake quiet study in the Waterfall Room, designated times will be allocated where students may undertake group work, while other times will be quiet time only. 

These times will be determined in consultation with the Class Presidents and SCAVMA Chairs and will be posted on the doors leading to this room. 

3.6 Pet Animals

College regulations prohibit students bringing pet animals into college buildings except for attendance at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, in which case all policies and procedures pertaining to client-owned animals will apply. On rare occasions, student-owned animals may be used in specific courses or student club/organization events, but these will be approved by the Associate Dean for Professional Programs. At these times pets will be restricted to the places and activities as outlined in the course syllabus or the request for usage of College facilities e.g., MDL labs. Pets should not be tied in the vicinity of entrances or walkways to buildings. Owners of uncontrolled pets found in any of these areas will be asked to remove the pet. Students bringing service animals into the CVM are required to follow all policies and procedures regarding these animals (see Section 3.7).

3.7 Service Animals

The College adheres to the policies regarding Service Animals developed by Virginia Tech’s Division of Student Affairs, Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Their Guidelines on Service Animals should be reviewed.

Requests for service animals will be processed by SSD, who will work with the Associate Dean for Professional Programs and the Director of Admissions and Student Support to specifically define the accommodations in the pre-clinical and clinical programs on a case-by-case basis.

3.8 Motor Vehicles and Parking

Students are expected to comply with all University rules and regulations pertaining to registration and operation of motor vehicles. In order to park on campus, students must pay the appropriate parking fee as established by the University. All motor vehicles must be registered with the University Security Division each academic year. At the time of first registration, applicants must present a current valid driver's license, state vehicle registration, license number and description of vehicle. Parking is permitted only in areas specifically designated for student parking. A map showing these locations is provided by the Security Division. Students who park in Faculty or Staff areas will be ticketed and towed and may be subject to other administrative actions. Visit Parking Services for more University parking information.

3.9 Electronic and Printed Materials Distributed in Courses

Students should be aware of the VT policy on copyright (policy 1300). Furthermore, most materials generated by faculty for their courses (e.g., lecture notes/handouts, PowerPoint slides, images, videos, Mp3 recordings, materials placed on Canvas or other sites containing course material e.g., Utube, etc) are solely for the use of DVM students for educational purposes. They are considered copyright of the College and the University and cannot be reproduced or distributed unless express written permission has been obtained from the author or member of faculty involved. Students are also encouraged to read the college’s Information Technology Policies and Procedures, which are available on the Intranet. 

3.10 Consensual Relationships

Consensual relationships are governed by 2.19.3 Non-Discrimination, Sexual Assault, and Harassment Prevention of the Faculty Handbook and Policy 1025, “Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Assault” and Policy 1026, “Policy on Title IX Sexual Harassment and Responsible Employee Reporting”.