MSCHE Self Study April 2021

The College has expanded its value ‐ added educational opportunities in its OD program through the past two strategic planning cycles, providing students with the ability to build an individualized educational experience beyond expected core competencies. These include dual degree options, certification programs, research training programs (T ‐ 35), micro ‐ credentials, elective courses, combined residency/graduate degree and co ‐ curricular opportunities through the Career Development Center. Recent expansion of the scope of optometric practice to include limited surgical procedures in several states nationwide provides an ongoing challenge, but the College continues to adjust its curriculum appropriately. Standard IV – Student Support Services: Through its recruitment efforts and admissions process, the College is successful at enrolling highly qualified and diverse students in all of its programs. The College continues to further develop and refine strategies to achieve its strategic goal of attracting the brightest, most motivated and diverse students with demonstrated leadership potential. Despite a dwindling national applicant pool, the College has successfully enrolled one of the most competitive classes in the country based on OAT scores and undergraduate GPA. The College has been quite successful in its efforts to increase the diversity of its students in recent years. That success, however, has created new challenges to ensure all students feel a sense of inclusion and belonging within the community. Student support services have expanded substantially since the last accreditation site visit, helping to ensure student personal needs are met and that the opportunity for student academic and clinical success is maximized. Examples include expanded academic counseling and learning support services, a clinical enhancement program, national board assistance program, increased mental health services, and food pantry access for students with food insecurity. Standard V – Educational Effectiveness Assessment: All the College’s educational programs have clearly stated curricular goals, which drive course learning objectives, and regularly monitor student performance with respect to these. Data from a variety of educational assessment tools, as described in the institution’s Assessment Plan , are analyzed and utilized to modify its professional and graduate curricula on a continuous basis. Examples of educational effective assessment to improve all programs are discussed in this standard. Although we believe assessment of our educational effectiveness is strong, it might be enhanced through additional and timelier data from graduates regarding their perceptions of the preparation received to practice to the full scope of their professional licenses. While the current OD Exit Survey and OD Alumni Survey provide valuable data in this regard, more comprehensive and timely data on practice patterns is desirable. We are exploring additional mechanisms, including revision of the exit and alumni surveys, as well as establishing a web ‐ based system to maintain contact with a representative sample of graduates to obtain these data.

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