MSCHE/ACOE Self Study

received support including a new Campus Center for Student Life and Learning , a major renovation of the ground floor, and substantial enhancements to biomedical research space on floors 16 and 17. A contract has been awarded for the Campus Center with construction scheduled to begin in March or April, 2011. 8) The College has initiated a Facilities Master Planning process in collaboration with University Administration and the State University Construction Fund (SUCF) for the period of 2013 – 2023. 9) The economic downturn has hit New York State hard, resulting significant decreases in support for public higher education. While the College has experienced its share of reductions [gross = -$3.667M and net (w/ labor cost adjustments) = -$1.243M] in direct State-support over the past three years, the College of Optometry has compensated through aggressive growth in its patient care and research programs, along with some moderate tuition increases. This growth, along with spending restraint, has offset State reductions and the College has ended each fiscal year with a surplus. 10)In September, 2009, the College and its affiliated foundation, the Optometric Center of New York (OCNY) initiated a “first of its kind” $10M major gifts campaign: “The Vision and The Promise”. The public phase of the campaign will commence in March 2011 with $4.5 - $5.0M raised to date. 11)In April, 2010, the Governor signed legislation requiring all managed Medicaid programs include the College’s University Eye Center on their panels for full medical eye care coverage. This act extended access to the UEC’s services for over 800,000 lives in the NYC area. 12)The College’s Center for Vision Care Policy completed an Eye Care Provider Workforce Analysis for New York State (Jan. 2011). The study will serve as the College’s basis for enrollment planning and ensure that we provide for the State’s increasing demand for eye care services. Institutional Effectiveness: The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) 2008 report (Appendix Exec-1) on the College’s 5-year Periodic Review Report (PRR) “commend[ed] the College for its comprehensive, institutionalized approach to assessment of student learning and institutional effectiveness and the use of data to drive changes.” The statement served as an early validation of the College community’s increasing commitment to the assessment of institutional effectiveness under new leadership. The five-year PRR review occurred while the College’s strategic plan, A Shared Vision, was under development. The timing of the approval of the College’s strategic plan in September of 2008 allowed several processes to immediately converge to improve the College’s measurement of institutional effectiveness and the acculturation of the community to assessment. These included:

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