MSCHE/ACOE Self Study

agreement between the faculty union (United University Professions) and State of New York (Appendix C-15: article 9 on academic freedom). The college website includes a page devoted to copyright policy and guidelines (http://www.sunyopt.edu/library/copyright.shtml). The Library Director, who serves as the Copyright Officer, is also a resource and is available to discuss fair use of copyrighted materials. A program of electronic reserves for courses in the professional program using Moodle (the college’s learning management system) was recently initiated by the Library Director. Copies of articles and other copyrighted materials that are required readings are being made available within the course space in Moodle and carry appropriate copyright designations. Only students enrolled in the course have access to these materials and only for the duration of the course. As a way to remind and emphasize copyright policies, signs and notes are posted in various locations (especially in the Library), and there is a “copyright resources” section on the Library website. Violations of copyright and other policies concerning intellectual property rights are considered as unethical behavior. If the violation involves a student, it would be investigated by the Judicial Committee. Detailed policies concerning patents, inventions and other intellectual property developed by faculty members can be found in the policies of the Research Foundation (https://portal.rfsuny.org/portal/page/portal/Intellectual_property/tto). These policies include the Patents and Invention Policy, which ensures that the public receives the benefits of all inventions made by persons working in State University facilities. The Technology Transfer Office of the Research Foundation is charged with assisting in the preparation of patent applications and monitoring patent payments. The operations manager for the Research Foundation at the campus is the College vice president for administration and finance, who is responsible for assuring that the campus is in compliance with the policies of the Research Foundation. The College employs detailed policies, which are discussed in the relevant portions of the Self-Study, to ensure equitable and appropriately consistent treatment of faculty, staff and students. Confidentiality of student records is discussed in Section E. Demographics of incoming classes are posted on the College’s website (http://www.sunyopt.edu/admissions/od_demographics.shtml) as are passing rates on examinations of the National Board of Examiners on Optometry (http://www.sunyopt.edu/admissions/NBEOPassRates.shtml) 4.1.2 The program is conducted and organized in such a way as to facilitate open communication among administrators, faculty, students, staff and other constituencies. Open and candid communication between administration and the faculty, staff and students has been a high priority for current administration led by President Heath. Shortly after his arrival in 2007, Dr. Heath met, in small group settings, with the various constituencies of the college. This was the first step in a concerted effort to regularize systems of communication within the College.

67