Important Information About Our Upcoming AAALAC Site Visit

Mark your calendars! The FSU triennial AAALAC reaccreditation site visit is scheduled for November 3-5, 2025. Our Animal Care and Use Program has been continuously accredited by AAALAC International since 2002. AAALAC International is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs.

During our three-day visit, the two site visitors will tour LAR facilities, laboratories where animals are used, and the Coastal & Marine Laboratory. They will also conduct extensive reviews of documents and medical records. Remember, this is not an inspection but a peer assessment of our animal program. Our goal for the 2025 site visit is to be again commended as an EXEMPLARY Animal Care and Use Program. Achieving this distinction for a third consecutive site visit will require everyone’s commitment.

Here is how you can help…

• Continue your animal work as usual; the site visit team expects to see active research. Follow all procedures for PPE and animal transport. Do not leave post-surgical animals unattended. Be open and honest when answering questions. Share only relevant information; if you don’t know something, say so and offer to follow up.
• Review your Animal Use Protocol and ensure your lab procedures match what’s described. Submit a modification if needed. Confirm that all personnel performing animal work are listed on the approved protocol. Site visitors will compare actual practices and personnel with the protocol.
• Be prepared to discuss your participation in the Occupational Health Program. Site visitors often ask how participants enroll and how workplace injuries, including allergies, are reported. Protocol personnel with direct animal contact must enroll by completing the FSU Medical Monitoring Program for Vertebrate Animal Users Enrollment and Risk Assessment Form, which is required every three years.
• Familiarize yourself with and follow LAR and ACUC guidelines and procedures. This is very important! LAR guidelines are available here. ACUC guidelines are available here. Site visitors will be provided copies of all policies and guidelines, and will observe for compliance.
• Please clean your area, especially surgery and procedure spaces. While sanitation may seem minor, lack of attention to cleanliness can raise concerns about other aspects of our Program.
• Ensure adequate documentation and labeling. Make sure surgery records are available, complete, and consistent with your Animal Use Protocol and the ACUC Peri-Operative Records Policy. Ensure analgesia administration is documented. Make training records easily accessible. Chemicals and drugs used in animals must be labeled and dated accordingly. Properly dispose of expired materials.
• We’ve identified a representative sample of investigator laboratories to visit. Please be available during your scheduled time. Site visitors will ask many questions—be open, honest, and concise. Share relevant information, and if you don’t know an answer, say so and offer to follow up.