AAALAC International Accreditation Site Visit

Background

AAALAC International is a voluntary, private, nonprofit accrediting organization that supports quality research, testing and education by promoting humane and responsible animal care and use through triennial assessment of participating institutions, and accreditation of those that meet or exceed applicable standards.

Additional information as to the date and schedule will be shared with impacted stakeholders as the visit becomes closer.

How can PIs Prepare for the Visit?

A successful site visit is an important and vital step in maintaining the AAALAC Accreditation for the animal program. What can PI’s and others do to prepare?

• View the short AWO-P-040 video training on preparing for AAALAC and review/utilize the materials referenced (below and available on the Guidance page)
• Participate in preparatory visits from the AWO staff and/or IACUC to ensure issues noted during the last site visit have been fully addressed
• Eliminate or address protocol drift to avoid noncompliance in ongoing projects – identify drift, return to activities as described in the IACUC approved AUP, and submit a protocol amendment to address desired modifications
• Ensure your AUP application is complete before submitting for IACUC review by following all field instructions and section help text
• Be aware of requirements described in IACUC Guidance including labeling and record keeping – see materials referenced below
• Singly house animals as described in the AUP or based on the clinical/husbandry exceptions described in TAMU-G-027.
• Ensure all protocol personnel who work with live animals have read and understand the AUP and their role in the research/teaching performed
• Encourage laboratory representatives to answer that they do not know the answer to questions posed by the AAALAC site visitors when unsure of the answer rather than guessing… and then direct the site visitors to the individual who can supply the answer

Suggested Materials

Hints/Tips for Maintaining Compliance

• AWO-O-001 IACUC Program Do’s & Don’ts
• AWO-O-059 Hints and Tips for Success

PI Self-Assessment to Identify Protocol Drift/Noncompliance

• AWO-C-012 PAM-PI Self-Assessment Checklist
• TAMU-C-002 IACUC Facility Inspection Checklist Guide – PI Locations

IACUC Guidelines

• AWO-O-003 List of IACUC Guidance
• AWO-O-052 Reference to TAMU IACUC Required Recordkeeping and Labeling

AUP Tools

• AWO-O-069 Experimental Design and Timeline/Workflow Worksheet
• TAMU-C-008a AUP Help Text

For more Information or Assistance

Please contact the Animal Welfare Office staff at animalcompliance@tamu.edu or 979.845.1828 with any questions you may have about the revisit process.