Diversity and Inclusion Master Plan

Part I. Education

Educational Pipeline and the Diversity of the Profession The educational pipeline is an useful analogy that represents the flow of students from high school to college to graduate school and on to fulfilling careers. Students in the pipeline are seen as part of a continuous and integrated system of education rather than as part of separate, fragmented entities of schooling. Patterns of student performance in one point of the pipeline affect the entire continuum in an integrated chain. From this systemic view of the educational continuum, access, completion and makeup of the workforce must be analyzed as an integrated whole from high school to job placement. In other words, to shape a diverse, inclusive, and equitable profession that reflects the population it serves, the educational pipeline must be analyzed and understood at its various stages. Specific action plans must be intentionally designed and implemented to mitigate the identified issues. The pipeline leading to a career in optometry, like with most health professions, is long, arduous, and competitive. Students seeking a career in optometry must earn a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree, a four- year doctoral level degree. Optometry students must have earned a bachelor’s degree or have completed at least 90 credits of undergraduate work to enroll in optometry school. Students must also have completed pre-requisite courses in the natural and social sciences, English, and math. The majority of applicants will typically major in the biological sciences. The Optometry pipeline depends on the following demographic characteristics: 1) US Population >> 2) Population of the State of New York >> 3) College matriculation rates by race and ethnicity >> 4) Graduation rates by race and ethnicity >> 5 ) Students’ educational paths/career choices >> 6) Diversity of the applicant pool >> 7 ) SUNY Optometry’s student profile

Below (Figures 1a-c) is a graphic representation comparing the educational pipeline for three different racial/ethnic groups: underrepresented minorities (URMs), Whites, and Asians.

URM*

White

36.4

30.9

23.7

7.8

4.94

3.6

81.2

51.6

55 45.32

61.6

56

US Population

NYS Population

NYS % of College Graduates

Optometry Schools

SUNY Optometry

ODs State of NY

Figure 1.b. Educational Pipeline – URMs (African American & Hispanics)

Figure 1.a. Educational Pipeline - White 1

1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. (2013). The U.S. Health Workforce Chartbook, retrieved from http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/supplydemand/usworkforce/chartbook/index.html. ;

Soroka, M. (2012). The New York State Optometry workforce study, Journal of Community Health, 37 (2), 448-57; U.S. Census Bureau (2016). Retrieved from, http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/36#headnote-js-a.

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