Optometric Professional Organizations

SCCO encourages involvement with different national professional optometric organizations whose missions include preparing students for their future in optometry, networking with professionals, career development, and building community. All SCCO students are automatically members of the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) and the American Optometric Association (AOA) by virtue of their membership in the MBKU Student Government Association (SGA).

Other professional optometry organizations include:

• American Optometric Association Political Action Committee (AOA-PAC)
• Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS)
• College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD)
• National Optometric Student Association (NOSA)

SCCO Student Clubs

In addition to the national professional organizations mentioned above, there are also a variety of SCCO student clubs on campus:

• Beta Sigma Kappa Honor Society (BSK)
• Optometric Extension Program (OEP)
• Private Practice Club (PPC)
• Spanish Optometric Society (SOS)
• Fellowship of Christian Optometrists (FCO)
• Omega Delta (OD)
• Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH)

For more information regarding MBKU SGA and student clubs and organizations, visit Presence - the MBKU student life dashboard.

Student Attendance at Congresses, Conferences, and Extracurricular Activities

During the academic year, there are a number of congresses, conferences, and other extracurricular meetings which are held. Such meetings might include the American Optometric Association Congress, the American Academy of Optometry, the California Optometric Association Congress, the regional and national American Optometric Student Association meetings, Visual Training Seminars, and other professional and educational meetings. If a student desires to attend any of these functions during scheduled classes or clinic assignments the student must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50. The student must obtain prior permission in writing according to the procedure listed above in anticipated absence.

Participation in Administrative Committees

SCCO committees afford students an opportunity to impact the direction of the College and their own educational experience. There are several faculty and administrative committees comprised of faculty and student representatives that make recommendations to the Dean of Optometry on College-wide matters. Students are encouraged to participate in college committees. Listed below is a brief description of each committee's role and function. If you are interested in participating on one of the committees, contact the Office of SCCO Student Affairs. The process for committee appointment is that the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs makes recommendations for appointment of students to specific committees to the Student Advising and Programming Specialist. The Student Advising and Programming Specialist considers these recommendations and forwards an endorsed version to the Dean, who appoints personnel to all college committees. Below is a list of committees where student participation and membership is sought.

1. Academic Standing and Policy Committee

Membership: The Committee shall be composed of a minimum of 5 faculty members and 1 student representative. The Vice President for Student Affairs, the Dean of Clinical Education, and the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs shall be ex-officio members.

Purpose: The Committee shall be responsible for regularly reviewing each professional student's academic progress, especially those students on probation or eligible for dismissal and recommending appropriate action to the Dean of Optometry. The Committee shall also be responsible for hearing personal appeals from dismissed students and then making recommendations to the Dean of Optometry on the disposition. All deliberations of this Committee will remain confidential.

2. Curriculum Committee

Membership: The Committee shall be composed of a minimum of 5 faculty members and 3 student representatives, 1 member from each of the Second-, Third- and Fourth-Year Classes.

Purpose: The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing and monitoring of the scope, depth, and balance of the professional curriculum in light of both the current practice of optometry, and future changes in licensing requirements and developments in the profession.

Student Teaching Assistants

A teaching assistant is a full-time student, selected by a faculty instructor-of-record with approval of the department chair, to aid the instructor in achieving the objectives of a course. In most instances, teaching assistants will facilitate instruction in laboratory components of courses. Teaching assistants may not be employed or utilized as a replacement for any faculty member.

Any full-time student who is currently in good academic and professional standing may be employed by the University as a teaching assistant, or work-study performing teaching assistant duties, for any course if qualified to do so (as determined by the appropriate faculty) with the following exceptions.

• No student may serve as a teaching assistant in a course in which he/she is enrolled as a student.
• No student may serve as a teaching assistant in a course in which his/her classmates are enrolled, whether or not the student is enrolled in the course.
• No student may serve as a teaching assistant in any course in which upperclassmen are enrolled.

A student employed by the University as a teaching assistant in a lecture or laboratory course may be assigned any or all of the following duties.

• Assisting in teaching in a laboratory course.
• Assisting in the reading/grading of course examinations or other assignments.
• Assisting in the organization and preparation of course materials.
• Setting up materials for a laboratory exercise.

Review (Recitation) Sessions

Review sessions are arranged for select courses throughout the program. These sessions are typically scheduled weekly and are run by a teaching assistant/tutor who has taken the class and has been selected by the course instructor. Course material is reviewed and students have the opportunity to ask questions.

Practice sessions are also arranged for select clinical skills laboratories throughout the program. These sessions are scheduled several times a week and students might need to sign up for a specific session. These “after-hours” practice sessions are run by the laboratory teaching assistants who have been selected by the laboratory instructors.

SCCO Student Name Policy

All SCCO students will be issued a magnetic name tag that should be worn to all laboratory and clinical assignments. Below is a template of the name tag:

To protect the privacy of our students, only a first name will be included on the name tag. Students will be invited to submit the name they wish to have printed on their name tag through an electronic submission process. Students may use their legal first name, an official preferred name as approved by University Student Affairs, or nicknames. The use of a nickname is subject to approval by the college, and the use of initials will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. Students will be issued one name tag in their first year and it is expected that it will be used for the remainder of their enrollment at SCCO.

Students may change or replace their name tag for any reason, however, it will be at their own expense. To obtain a new name tag, please contact the Student Advising and Programming Specialist.

This policy will extend to all instances where student names are used, Commencement, White Coat, Scholarship, and Awards Programs as examples. Students will be invited to submit the name they wish to have printed and the college will approve.