Statement of Accreditation Status
SUNY College of Optometry
- CEO: Dr. David Heath, President
- Accreditation Liaison Officer: Dr. Suresh Viswanathan
- Commission Staff Liaison: Dr. Terence Peavy, Vice President
- Carnegie Classification: Special Focus Four-Year: Other Health Professions Schools » Exclusively graduate/professional
- Control: Public
- Phase: Accredited
- Status: Accreditation Reaffirmed
- Accreditation Granted: 1976
- Last Reaffirmation: 2021
- Next Self-Study Evaluation: 2028-2029
- Next Mid-Point Peer Review: 2025
- The following represents the MSCHE accreditation actions taken in the last ten (10) years.
- June 24, 2021
To acknowledge receipt of the self-study report. To note that the institution hosted a virtual site visit in lieu of an on-site visit in accordance with the United States Department of Education (USDE) guidelines published March 17, 2020. To reaffirm accreditation. To note that a verification visit is required by USDE guidelines and will be conducted within a reasonable period of time following the virtual site visit. The next evaluation visit is scheduled for 2028-2029. - April 16, 2020
To acknowledge receipt of formal written notice from the institution in response to the Commission's request of March 9, 2020. To temporarily waive Substantive Change Policy and Procedures and allow the use of distance education to accommodate students impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19) interruptions, in accordance with United States Department of Education (USDE) guidelines published March 5, 2020. Continued use of distance education beyond the limitations of USDE guidelines will require substantive change approval in accordance with Substantive Change Policy and Procedures. This flexibility is not available for clock-hour courses that lead to licensure if the licensing body will not accept distance learning courses or hours or give credit for them toward the number of hours a student must complete. The next evaluation visit is scheduled for 2020-2021. - November 17, 2016
To accept the Periodic Review Report and to reaffirm accreditation. To commend the institution for the quality of the Periodic Review Report and the PRR process. The next evaluation visit is scheduled for 2020 - 2021.
- Distance Education
Not approved to offer programs by this delivery method - Correspondence Education
Not approved for this delivery method
Approved Credential Levels
The following represents credential levels included in the scope of the institution’s accreditation:
- Master's Degree or Equivalent Included within the scope:
- Doctor's Degree - Professional Practice Included within the scope:
- Doctor's Degree- Research/Scholarship Included within the scope:
The following are links to sites that are not maintained by the MSCHE. These are provided as additional external resources about each institution that the MSCHE accredits.