Aspiring veterinarians have a new option to earn a degree that could allow them to finish their education faster and more cheaply.

Gloucester County's community college, Rowan College at Gloucester County, signed an agreement last week with the for-profit Ross University's School of Veterinary Medicine in the West Indies. Under the deal, Ross will reserve three seats each semester for graduates of the community college, enrolling those students in the graduate professional school immediately after they receive their associate's degree.

"The students aren't required to complete their baccalaureate degrees, so there's a dramatic cost savings for students in the South Jersey region," said Brenden Rickards, dean of the division of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at Rowan College at Gloucester County.

"It now provides an option most students don't even consider if they want to go into a career in veterinary medicine," he said.

The American Veterinary Medical Association lists 28 accredited schools in the United States. The only one in the region is at the University of Pennsylvania; New Jersey has none. The closest veterinary schools after that: Virginia Tech, Cornell University in New York, and Tufts University in Massachusetts.

"In this state, we don't have any vet schools, and we don't have any seats in any vet schools, so if a student really wants to go on this track . . . it's going to be a very difficult path," said Emily Allen, who runs the community college's equine science program.

Traditionally, students at the college who wished to become veterinarians have pursued an associate's degree through that program, which covers a range of animal husbandry. They would then transfer to a partner university - Rutgers-New Brunswick, Cornell, or Delaware Valley College - to finish a bachelor's degree before going on to veterinary school.

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Glouco college signs deal with veterinary school