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Our Vision, Mission, Values and Goals

Our Vision
Advancing the Science and Practice of Optometry

Our Mission
The mission of the College of Optometry is to promote and provide improved eye and health care for people throughout the country by preparing the next generation of optometrists and vision researchers. To accomplish our mission the faculty, staff and students will pursue excellence within our professional, residency and patient care programs.

Our Values
Optometrists, as essential primary eye care providers within an effective health care delivery system, frequently serve as leaders within the community. It is our commitment to demonstrate and instill an appreciation for the following values as we prepare our graduates to fulfill that role with distinction.

Growth - We are committed to creating evidence- based quality educational experiences and engendering a passion for lifelong learning within our students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Individual and collective discipline and perseverance are required for growth. Growth is an essential component of our commitment to make a positive impact upon the community that we serve.

Responsibility - We are committed to the pursuit of excellence, charity and compassion toward others, and to improved quality of life for those who live and work within our community. The fulfillment of that obligation is enabled by a dedication to personal and academic integrity.

Discovery - We are committed to the development and utilization of innovative approaches to maximize learning and improve patient care through research, scholarship and teaching. The pursuit and dissemination of new knowledge fulfills our responsibility to enhance the delivery of eye care and the quality of life for our fellow citizens.

Community - We are committed to supportive and productive relationships within our college, campus, professional and surrounding communities. We have an appreciation for the dignity of others and respect for the diversity that exists within our community. Teamwork and collaboration are essential as we strive to enrich the lives of our citizens.

Belonging
We are committed to an environment that offers feelings of security and support through a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity for each unique member of our college community. Inclusion, as an intentional practice, helps us create space for greater engagement, authenticity, and sense of belonging. Through this, we can better aid students, staff, and faculty development and success. 

 

Goal 1: Recruit and educate highly qualified applicants who will become exemplary practitioners through a quality learning experience

Objective 1: Recruit and retain a diverse student population with the appropriate academic capabilities and education to successfully complete the program of study

Objective 2: Maintain academic excellence with a curriculum that evolves with the practice of Optometry and prepares students to become doctors with the appropriate knowledge and skills to be successful.

Objective 3: Provide a broad range of clinical experiences to produce highly qualified Doctor of Optometry possessing skills in accord with the evolving practice of optometry and at a high standard of patient care.

 

Goal 2: Encourage faculty and staff to achieve their highest potential, thereby fostering career satisfaction and creating outstanding role models for their peers and students. 

Objective 1: Provide the faculty with the opportunity to improve their teaching through enabling access to new technologies and innovative teaching methods, through encouraging the usage of critical thinking and scientific analysis in the classroom and clinics, and through ensuring opportunities to keep abreast of new knowledge in their areas of expertise 

Objective 2: Faculty and staff salaries remain competitive.

Objective 3: Provide staff members with opportunities to enhance their performance through enabling access to new technologies; through fostering intra-College communication; through providing clinic staff opportunities for training which may include in-service, online and off campus opportunities in topics related to the practice of optometry;  through encouraging active staff engagement in College Vision, Mission, Values, Goals and Objectives, and through ensuring opportunities for staff development. 

 

Goal 3: Engage faculty and students in research that adds to new knowledge within the optometric profession, improves teaching, and enhances patient care through evidence-based and interdisciplinary approaches to healthcare.

Objective 1: Promote and support faculty and student involvement in the generation of new knowledge. The College recognizes the importance of traditional research activity but because Optometry holds a unique role at the University of Missouri and in the region, the College also recognizes the value other scholarly activity such as development of new technologies geared towards patient care, innovative approaches to teaching, collaborative relationships with other health professionals, distinction in the optometric community by achieving Fellow or Diplomate status in the Academy of Optometry, and helping patients through evidence-based approaches to assess and treat visual dysfunction.

Objective 2: Improve patient care in our community by expansion of evidence-based training and exposure to interdisciplinary care with our students.

 

Goal 4: Conduct high quality, accredited post-graduate residency programs that enhance and extend optometric skills beyond entry-level optometry

Objective 1: Continue to develop and expand the residency programs through on-going successful accreditation and the expansion and modification of current programs to maintain high quality.
 
Objective 2: Continue to promote post-graduate residency education to students with touchpoints throughout the program.
  


Goal 5: Promote community engagement through social welfare endeavors, education, and related service.

Objective 1: Provide access to quality vision care for patients in the St. Louis regions, including high-need, at-risk, under-served and indigent populations in the St. Louis region through established clinics and clinical agreements. 

Objective 2: Continue to deliver high quality relevant continuing education opportunities
  


Goal 6: Plan for improvements to the physical facility and equipment and maintain sufficient resources including technology to maintain an environment conducive to the highest level of learning, patient care, research, and service.

Objective 1: Establish a system for maintaining, adding, and replacing all equipment in the College, including office equipment, clinical, classroom and laboratory equipment.
 
Objective 2: Maintain a system for sustaining all facilities, including University maintained, off-site clinical facilities, as appropriate 

Objective 3: The College will seek to control the costs of tuition, fees, and equipment. 
 
Objective 4: Maintain a process to review operational efficiencies and make recommendations for operational improvements