ACOE_Self-Study

The College’s committee structure as described in the Faculty Handbook ( Appendix IV-5 or http://www.sunyopt.edu/pdfs/academics/FacultyHandbook_091715.pdf) facilitates communication amongst administration, faculty, staff and students. All appointed committees include faculty and staff and several include students. Certain of the elected faculty committees (e.g., Curriculum Committee and Committee on Educational Policy) also have student members. Elections for faculty committees are generally competitive, which is suggestive of the value that faculty members place in the usefulness of these committees. The faculty governance organization is actively engaged with the administration. The president and dean meet periodically with the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) and make themselves available as needed. Agenda items may be put forth by FEC or the president/dean. 4.1.3 The institutional structure clearly assigns authority and responsibility for the hiring, on- going evaluation, retention and discharge of the program’s chief executive officer. Per Article IX of the Policies of the Board of Trustees ( Appendix IV-1 or http://www.suny.edu/Board_of_Trustees/PDF/Policies.pdf), the hiring, on-going evaluation, retention and discharge of the College’s president, who serves as its chief executive officer, are solely within the purview of the University’s Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the Chancellor of the University. The current policy for evaluation of the campus presidents is given in Appendix IV-12 . 4.2 The programmust be conducted at an institution that is accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or is recognized by a provincial ministry of education in Canada. Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), a regional accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, reaffirmed the accreditation of SUNY State College of Optometry at its November 17, 2016 session based upon the College’s Periodic Review Report that was submitted in spring, 2016 ( Appendix IV-13 ). The MSCHE review of the PRR can be found in Appendix IV-14 , and a copy of the institutional accreditation letter from MSCHE, dated November 18, 2016, is in Appendix IV-15 . Accreditation status can also be found on the MSCHE Web site (https://www.msche.org/institution/). 4.3 The program’s chief executive officer or chief academic officer must have a professional optometric degree, and both must be qualified by education, training and experience to provide leadership in optometric education, scholarly activity, and patient care. Dr. David Heath is well qualified by education and experience to serve as the College’s chief executive officer. He is a graduate of Ithaca College and received his doctor of optometry degree from and completed his residency with The New England College of Optometry. He subsequently earned a masters degree in Education (concentration in Administration, Planning & Social Policy) from Harvard University. Dr. Heath served as Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at College administrators regularly and frequently meet with students and student officers. This is discussed in more detail in Standard VI.

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