The Mission of the University of Houston is to discover and disseminate knowledge through the education of a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional students, and through research, artistic, and scholarly endeavors, as it becomes the nation’s premier public university in an urban setting. In this role, the University of Houston applies its expertise to the challenges facing the local, state, national, and international communities, and it establishes and nurtures relationships with community organizations, government agencies, public schools, and the private sector to enhance the educational, economic, and cultural vitality of Houston and Texas.
The educational missions of the University of Houston College of Optometry are to educate and train sufficient optometrists to serve the needs of Texas primarily, but also to provide education and training for residents of other states and nations; to educate and train qualified teachers and researchers in optometry and vision sciences; to provide post-doctoral education in advanced clinical areas (residencies); and to provide training for practitioners in new developments and the medical sciences. The research mission is to add to the body of knowledge identified as vision science and to its effective application. The service missions are to provide counsel and support to the profession in its quest to improve optometric services; to help provide appropriate health education to the public; to help extend care to those segments of society which are underserved; and to provide advice and counsel to the international optometric sector.
The primary goal of the institution is to ensure that a diverse, well-educated optometrist graduate will, at entry into the profession, be able to provide all the diagnostic and treatment services which characterize the general practice of optometry. Characteristics of these attributes are articulated below. The details of entry-level skills and knowledge are articulated later in this section.
The Graduate Program in Physiological Optics addresses a need in the profession for teachers and scientists who are well educated in the vision sciences as well as patient care, and a broader need to expand the body of knowledge within vision sciences and to bring this knowledge and new technology to useful applications. The educational goals of the Graduate Program are to ensure that each graduate student:
The Residency Program provides advanced training and experience (beyond entry level) in areas of optometric practice.
The Office of Continuing Education provides practicing optometrists with timely, useful education to enhance their knowledge, scope of practice and the needs of the profession.
The Research Goal of the College is to conduct scholarly inquiry, both basic and applied, and to disseminate this information to the appropriate audiences. Such scholarship will often be accomplished through externally and internally funded projects.
The Service Goals are:
The primary responsibility of the College is to educate and train professional students who, at graduation, are competent to provide all the diagnostic and treatment services which characterize the general practice of optometry. Educational objectives have been established for each course in the professional curriculum which support this broad purpose.
The mission, goals and objectives are expected to be the overarching policy statements that allow the institution to meet its ultimate goal to educate and train optometrists who, at entry into the profession, will have the skills and knowledge to: