MSCHE Self Study April 2021

Policies of particular relevance to students can be found in the Student Handbook . This document is reviewed on an annual basis by the vice presidents for academic and student affairs. In the annual exit survey, students are asked to rate their level agreement with the following: “I was given an accurate picture of the College during the admissions process.” In the 2018, 2019 and 2020 surveys, 87%, 78% and 95%, respectively, agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. The College has historically made an effort to attract students from under ‐ represented minority (URM) groups. In the 2016, the College developed a Diversity and Inclusion Master Plan (DIMP), which was created to support the College’s diversity and inclusion driven mission. The DIMP outlines goals and strategies to increase diversity and inclusion at the College, with special attention to the recruitment of underrepresented minority students to the professional OD and graduate programs through the enhancement and creation of pipeline programs and providing support services for them to succeed. While it has been challenging to increase the enrollment of underrepresented minority students, through a number of strategic and tactical steps outlined in the DIMP, in 2020 the College enrolled the most diverse class in its history with 17 URMs. Moreover, after the murder of George Floyd, the College established a Presidential Task Force on Race and Equity (TFRE) with the goal of assessing the College’s current strategies to advance its diversity goals and providing short ‐ and long ‐ term sustainable solutions to issues of race and equity ( TRFE Charge and TRFE Report ). The TFRE further focuses the College’s efforts to increase diversity and inclusion. In an effort to address this issue, the College continues to receive funding from the New York State Education Department to support a College Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP Brochure) that has as its primary objective to increase the number of historically underrepresented minority students in the profession of optometry. The College reapplied for the CSTEP grant for 2020 ‐ 2025 and was awarded nearly 1 million dollars over a 5 ‐ year period. The CSTEP coordinator works with the VPSA to determine marketing, communication, and recruitment strategies, and to recruit minority candidates at colleges and universities that have highly diverse student bodies. Key components of the CSTEP program are the Summer and Winter Internship programs, a two ‐ week immersive shadowing experience at the College’s UEC, and Summer Academic Program that offers a credit ‐ bearing course entitled Introduction to Vision and Optometry at no cost to participants and support services for current students. These initiatives have been effective. As can be seen in the graph below, there is a general upward trend in enrollment of URM students in the first ‐ year class.

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