(Photo by John de Dios - University of Arizona)

University of Arizona and Oro Valley officials at the future home of Arizona's first public veterinary school in Oro Valley.

The University of Arizona’s proposed veterinary school has hit a stumbling block with its accreditor, which says the school is not ready to enroll students this fall.

The American Veterinary Medicine Association said it does not have enough information to give the UA’s veterinary school approval to move forward in its development. The UA is appealing that decision.

The association did not respond to a request for comment, but the Arizona Daily Star reported the accreditors have concerns with the school’s long-term financial viability, inadequate staffing and recruiting plans and lack of a high-quality research program.

The state legislature this year appropriated $8 million for the school in Oro Valley.

UA President Ann Weaver Hart said in a press release the university is proposing a year-round education program that would provide a doctor of veterinary medicine degree more quickly and for less money than at other programs in the United States. Hart said there is a shortage of veterinarians in Arizona outside the Phoenix area that the UA school will fill.

Midwestern University in Glendale is the only veterinary school in Arizona accredited by the American Veterinary Medicine Association.