Great. Just what the profession needs. Another college of optometry that will try to attract students from a pool of qualified candidates which is already depleted. So Georgia Southern will do what all the other new colleges of optometry have done before them- start accepting students that never would have before, and should not be now, considered as qualified candidates.
And than the predictable will happen, they will fail the national boards, and still get a degree. Then the discussion will be, let us not blame the greed of the university, let's not blame the poor quality student who probably got a C or lower in their basic college biology course-even if the took biology. Let's blame everything on the difficulty of the national boards, that every doctor of optometry had to pass before this nonsense began.
Agree with Dr. Ohlson or not- you have to give him credit for trying to put the genie back into the bottle long after it escaped and was granted its 3 wishes.
Thanks, maybe.
It’s not about me. I get that it’s fun to make it about me. Me, me, me. I was never czar, though. It doesn’t work like that.
The range of first time pass rates on identical test administrations over many, many years tells the story.
No one made the test more difficult. Your peers created the test. Validity, reliability, fairness, and legal defensibility as determined now, not in the past, are expected. Fees had to go up. New IT was required, not optional.
Adding five colleges isn’t going to raise pass rates. Dropping basic science isn’t acceptable.
ODs are the ones enabling if not directly causing the issues. They just don’t like it when I say it. Also, I said it openly here. The responses were often juvenile or very sad rather than curious or reflective. I shared quite a lot of it while sparing identities. It’s not simply my opinion.
I don't miss being on NBEO. Optometry has a long way to go in terms of competency and professional character. I take no pleasure in typing it. I could be a populist and tell everyone how great they are, etc. Everyone can do that. When it’s not the truth, there’s a problem.
With fewer than 2900 applicants, adding five more colleges is questionable, right? One might create a great program and make it soar. Good! If not… that’s not good.
Low applicant: seat ratio, more colleges, few experienced profs/admin, generally no enforced CE standards (thus marketing as CE), little physician learner theory, a fake BC, a state board drops basic science testing in the 21st century… okay, you’re all great. See? It doesn’t fly.
Without examining data, facts, reflection, and change, it’ll go poorly for many. It’s common sense.
