Statement of Accreditation Status
SUNY College of Optometry
- CEO: Dr. David Heath, President
- Accreditation Liaison Officer: Dr. Steven Schwartz
- Commission Staff Liaison: Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, 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: 2016
- Next Self-Study Evaluation: 2020-2021
- Next Mid-Point Peer Review: 2025
- The following represents the MSCHE accreditation actions taken in the last ten (10) years.
- 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. - June 23, 2011
To reaffirm accreditation and to commend the institution for the quality of the self-study report. The Periodic Review Report is due June 1, 2016.
- 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
- Doctor's Degree - Professional Practice
- Doctor's Degree- Research/Scholarship
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.