Developing innovative programs for unique student populations.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Optometric education has been faced with ever-increasing expectations. These include the ability to educate students and practitioners to care for new patient populations, deal with more diverse and complex clinical problems, to be significant participants in the research community and to fulfill leadership positions within the profession. To fulfill this expectation, schools and colleges need to diversify their program offerings to attract and educate unique student populations who come from diverse backgrounds and bring a range of pre-existing knowledge and skills. RESULTS: This paper provides an overview of The New England College of Optometry's efforts in this area and two programs, the "Advanced Standing International Program" and the "Accelerated Doctor of Optometry Degree Program," are examined in detail. An emphasis is placed on outcomes assessment to ensure the programs are fulfilling their purpose and the results of a retrospective analysis of the two programs is provided.