MSCHE Evaluation Report May 2021

Team Report (Self-Study Evaluation)

Page 21

Director of Management Services. Another unit interfaces with the SUNY Construction Fund on the design and construction of renovations. The College’s physical plant has seen considerable updating and renovation efforts substantially in recent years, but its footprint is limited. SUNY recently notified the College that it would revert the 18 th floor back to the College, which opens up flexibility and opportunities to generate revenue. The College has benefitted from an extensive capital program, coordinated through the SUNY Construction Fund. This has addressed functional as well as infrastructure improvements; however, funding was suspended by the State until recently. Three major renovations are pending funding from the SUNY Construction Fund. Capital Funding comes to the College in the form of grants or matching programs and through a formula-based allocation, both administered by the SUNY Construction Fund. Library There is a dedicated library at the College; it underwent a major renovation in 2017 using student surveys and focus groups to identify needs. This provided significantly more study space and natural light after weeding out of significant amounts of materials. This did not impact the core books in vision sciences and optometry for which the library is known. Clinical Operations The College manages clinical operations that exceeded 70,000 patient visits annually before Covid. In the early months of the crisis, it pared operations down to emergency visits; this had a significant impact on patient care revenue for the College. The clinics moved quickly to telehealth, and personnel made significant efforts to check in on their regular patients The clinics have been ramping back up since regular visits were permitted. Social distancing provides the biggest challenge to patient flow (and consequently student involvement); they expect to get back to 50,000 patient visits this year, not eliminating the financial losses but reducing them to a more manageable level. Planned renovations for primary care will make clinical visits flow better in this new style of operations. Utilization of Outcomes Data for Institutional Improvement The College uses data extensively to assess operations and to make adjustments to improve the performance of its missions. There is evidence of examples where its Assessment Plan led to demonstrable changes in tactics and deployment of resources. Collegial Advice o Continue assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on University finances, operations, and strategic priorities. o Develop a strategic financial model focusing on the goal of moderating growth of student debt.  During the Covid emergency, the library pivoted to support remote access of materials. The library has been noted as doing exceptional work by SUNY officials.