FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado State University’s new Veterinary Professional Associate program is drawing questions from a retired veterinarian who says the university is not meeting the promises made to voters when they approved Proposition 129 in 2024.
CSU opened a new facility last month. The Veterinary Professional Associate program currently has 14 students. The proposition created a new animal care role to help address Colorado’s veterinarian shortage.
But Dr. Gretchen Norton, a retired veterinarian who worked in shelter medicine and private practice, questions whether students are being adequately prepared while the state continues developing rules for the profession.
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“We love animals. We want to help them. We want to make things better,” Norton said.
Norton said she believes the proposition moved forward before key details about the new profession were established.
“I feel like the VPA program was rushed through a vote, and now that it's trying to get into practice, it's not doing the things that were promised to the voters to do,” Norton said.
Denver7 brought Norton’s questions to CSU, including how students are being trained while the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine continues developing rules governing the profession.
In a written response, CSU said its curriculum covers the fundamentals of veterinary medicine, including normal anatomy and physiology, disease processes, diagnosis and treatment of common diseases, along with professional skills such as communication and ethics.
The university said its current curriculum focuses on dogs and cats, with large-animal training still in development. Students also receive surgical training in areas such as sterile technique, instrument and tissue handling, suturing, and procedures commonly needed in small-animal practice and shelter medicine.
Dr. Sherry Lanning, director of CSU’s Master of Science in Veterinary Clinical Care program, said the curriculum was being developed before Proposition 129 passed.
“We already had a setting for them with competencies to where they had a very clear relationship with a veterinarian that was built into the program and what their skill set would be within that setting,” Lanning said.
Norton’s concerns extend beyond the curriculum. She said students are committing time and money to a graduate degree without knowing exactly what their future responsibilities will be or how many jobs will be available.
“My main concern is that the position was not clarified before they've started accepting students, so we don't know what they're going to be able to do,” Norton said. “But it's going to cost them a master's degree debt, and we don't know if there will be any jobs for them.”
CSU said it has heard from animal shelters and private practices focused on small-animal care that are interested in hiring VPAs to work under veterinarian supervision. The university said some students are particularly interested in shelter medicine and expanding access to care.
Licensing is another outstanding question. Lanning said responsibility for administering the licensing exam remains under discussion.
“Who is going to be in charge of the licensing exam, that is still something being discussed, and there was a sense of urgency in that meeting today,” Lanning said.
The state board’s ongoing rulemaking will help determine how the new profession operates in Colorado, including scope of practice and credentialing requirements.
CSU’s first Veterinary Professional Associate cohort is expected to graduate in May 2028.
