The Animal Resources Center (ARC) oversees the care and use of vertebrate animals utilized as part of the research and teaching activities of the University and serves as a source of expertise and support for investigators and the administration on all issues related to laboratory animals.
ARC accomplishes this by:
- Providing quality care for research animals
- Ensuring that the vivarium facilities and the campus animal care program continue to meet the standards for continued AAALAC accreditation
- Overseeing the orientation and training of individuals involved in animal research
- Providing technical services and specialized training in support of ongoing research projects
- Recruiting and retaining a top-notch staff
- Working closely with other groups in the University to assure compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and policies regarding animal care and use
Veterinary Care and Consultation
The UT Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee has issued a guidance document (#15 – Guidelines for Veterinary Care, Health Checks, and Illness Reporting) which can be found on the IACUC Policies, Procedures and Guidelines page.
All personnel involved in vertebrate animal research should be familiar with the contents of that document, which explains under what circumstances research staff must notify the ARC or the IACUC regarding animal health, procedural complications, unexpected deaths, etc.
Emergency Contact
For urgent animal health concerns, 24-hour veterinary assistance is available using the emergency contact number at 512-471-4145.
To communicate less urgent animal health issues (such as individual animal injury/illness reports), report unexpected animal deaths or unanticipated research complications, discuss non-emergency situations, obtain a veterinary treatment consult, etc., email vetstaff@austin.utexas.edu.
ARC Animal Husbandry and Housing
ARC Facility Access
Access to the ARC is limited to authorized individuals who have completed the access requirements and have obtained formal approval from both their home department and the Animal Resources Center. View the complete ARC access policy.
Access Requests for the ARC
- Fill out the online access form completely. If the form has missing information it will not be processed. The document will be sent via DocuSign routing for approval.
- Required Facility Orientations must be completed before facility access is granted. ARC staff will contact the requestor to set up required orientations as part of the access request form approval process.
- Go to the Flawn Academic Center ID center and obtain a PROXIMITY card.
- Once the PI has signed the electronic docu-sign access form, bring the activated proximity card to the ARC lobby on the second floor. The ARC is located at 2701 Speedway.
Business Services and Rates
Below are the ARC service rates that are currently in place. For more information, download the Revision of Central and User Cost-Sharing for ARC Per Diem (effective June 1, 2023) (PDF).
The values found in the “Full cost” column on the chart are the actual expenses incurred by the ARC when providing one day of care to each species type. On each per diem invoice, a portion of this cost is covered by a subsidy provided by the Vice President for Research and a portion is covered by the investigator.
Although all researchers should plan budgets with the assumption that per diem rates may increase 5-10% per year, significantly increased future rates are less likely for those species that are already paying full or nearly full cost rates.
Animal Resource Center (ARC) Cost, Subsidy and Rate Schedule FY2023/24
| Species1 | Full Cost1 | Central Subsidy1 | Net Per Diem Rate | External Rate2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mouse | $1.43 | $0.72 | $0.71 | $1.81 |
| SPF Mouse (Semi-barrier) | $1.23 | $0.45 | $0.78 | $1.55 |
| Barrier Mouse | $1.67 | $0.71 | $0.96 | $2.11 |
| Rat | $2.75 | $2.07 | $0.68 | $3.48 |
| SPF Rat (Semi-barrier) | $4.11 | $3.02 | $1.09 | $5.20 |
| Gerbil | $3.89 | $3.00 | $0.89 | $4.93 |
| Hamster | $2.21 | $1.79 | $0.42 | $2.80 |
| Rabbit | $6.68 | $3.44 | $3.24 | $8.45 |
| Vole | $3.85 | $2.84 | $1.01 | $4.87 |
| Wild Mouse | $3.67 | $2.49 | $1.18 | $4.65 |
| Macaque | $10.90 | $3.45 | $7.45 | $13.79 |
| Marmoset | $7.25 | 0 | $7.25 | $9.17 |
| Non-ARC Mouse | $1.24 | $0.75 | $0.49 | $2.00 |
| Aquatic Tank (see below) | $0.94 | $0.82 | $0.12 | $1.20 |
For species not listed above, contact the ARC to obtain an estimated rate for budgetary purposes.
- Internal Rates – The first column is the true cost to the university for each of the species (except to external users). The second column is the share to be paid by ARC from OVPR accounts, and the third column is what will be billed to users for their share.
- External Rates – Rates charged to internal users benefit from substantial subsidy funds provided to the ARC. However, the University does not extend this subsidy to external customers. External rates are based on total operating costs and include an additional institutional surcharge used to cover facilities and administrative expenses. The ARC does not generally directly support external users but there are situations where another university department utilizes ARC services as part of their project funded directly by an external user. In these cases, the ARC will bill the external rate, so the budgeting for these projects must take this into account. External users are entities or persons over whom The University of Texas at Austin has no fiduciary responsibility, regardless of the user’s relation to the university’s academic or research mission. External users include universities/colleges other than The University of Texas at Austin, commercial entities, nonaffiliated not-for-profit organizations, other state agencies, students, and members of faculty or staff acting in a personal capacity.
Animal Resource Center (ARC) Cost, Subsidy and Rate Schedule FY2023/24
| Services | Rate | External Rate | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surgery Suite | $26.79 | $34.00 | Per Case |
| Anesthesia Small Per Case | $10.00 | $13.00 | Per Case |
| Anesthesia Small Per Hour after Initial Set-up | $1.52 | $2.00 | Per Hour |
| Anesthesia Large Per Case | $14.00 | $18.00 | Per Case |
| Anesthesia Large Per Hour after Initial Set-up | $2.51 | $4.00 | Per Hour |
| Technologist | $50.00 | $64.00 | Per Hour |
| Chem-Hazard | $0.13 | $0.17 | Surcharge Per Cage |
| Bio Hazard | $0.14 | $0.18 | Surcharge Per Cage |
| Husbandry Attendant | $30.00 | $38.00 | Per Hour |
- As part of an ongoing effort to modernize the ARC billing software system, and to more closely align with billing models used by other cores, the ARC is upgrading to a new billing system. This new system also outlines OVPR subsidy information more clearly, so that PIs have a better understanding of ARC operating cost recovery, which includes significant subsidy support for many species.
- There is no change in the actual per diem or service rates.
- In this invoice, for line items charging for per diem care, “quantity” refers to the number of care days. “Per” defines the time period for the billed unit. The “unit price” is the unsubsidized cost, and “Extended” is the total unsubsidized cost (unit price * quantity).
- The subsidy provided by the OVPR is outlined at the bottom right, called “Less: OVPR Contribution.”
- As before, PIs have the opportunity to provide feedback regarding accounts to use for billing. This invoice includes the deadline by which PIs must provide that information.
Satellite Housing Information
Satellite animal housing facilities are locations where animals are maintained or housed for more than 12 (USDA species) or 24 (non-USDA species) hours. Satellite facilities are not managed or attended to daily by Animal Resource Center staff, but instead are overseen by the Principal Investigator (PI) and research staff. The University of Texas at Austin IACUC has compliance responsibility for all vertebrate animal housing and use areas, including satellite facilities. It is required to inspect all laboratory animal housing and procedural areas at least once every six months. Satellite facilities must comply with the same regulations as centrally managed facilities. Veterinarians must be provided access to animals housed/maintained in all satellite animal facility locations.
The IACUC and ARC highly recommend the use of centralized, dedicated facilities in order to allow for enhanced communication at all levels as well as consistent and high-quality animal care. Maintaining animals in areas outside of currently approved, dedicated animal facilities requires additional resources, as each animal facility must be maintained in accordance with accreditation standards and oversight agency requirements. If an unapproved location for animal housing (as defined above) is proposed, then the researcher must
- Submit an Animal Use Protocol or an amendment to an approved Animal Use Protocol in eProtocol to list the new housing location to start the approval process,
- Request a new animal housing inspection from the IACUC,
- Develop an animal care SOP with the assistance of ARC veterinarians, and
- Develop a Disaster Preparedness Plan (DPP) with the assistance of RSC and veterinary staff. These two documents will need to be submitted and attached to the Animal Use Protocol and approved by the IACUC committee.
Satellite housing facilities may not be used merely for convenience. The IACUC committee will individually assess each request for satellite housing.
Contact IACUC@austin.utexas.edu for questions regarding the satellite facility application process.