Continue an aggressive program of recruitment, both in-state and out-of-state, sufficient to maintain an applicant to position ratio of at least 2:1.

Host an annual open house to introduce pre-health professions advisors and prospective applicants to the facilities and programs of the School.

Promote and participate in the Each One, Reach One program of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.

Participate in minority recruitment, summer research, and community outreach programs to increase the minority presence within the School to a level more representative of the general population.

Participate in the Southern Regional Education Board program.

Provide information to students and graduates that enable them to seek geographic areas where there is a need for eye care services.

Recruit students with excellent undergraduate records by promoting optometry and developing relations with pre-health professions advisors at undergraduate institutions with reputations for academic excellence.

Follow a consistent set of admissions standards that includes pre-requisite courses and policies and procedures for admission.

Provide the admissions committee with all the information necessary to make objective predictions of academic and clinical success in the program.

Provide student support services, such as financial aid, tutoring, and counseling.

Maintain a system for tracking students’ progress in the professional program.

Apply a set of expectations of student performance that is consistent with entry-level practice.

Create and maintain classrooms, laboratories, clinics, libraries, and other physical facilities in a manner conducive to learning.

Recruit and retain faculty recognized for their expertise in basic and clinical sciences.

Review the curriculum periodically to ensure that both the didactic and clinical content are consistent with the broadest scope of optometric practice allowed by law.

Enhance the students’ exposure to clinicians and clinician-scientists of national and international reputation though a series of noontime lectures sponsored by the Clinical Visiting Scholars program of the School.

Include in the curriculum those courses that provide the foundation of scientific knowledge upon which eye care is based.

Include in the curriculum one or more courses that integrate basic science principles and clinical experiences.

Include in the curriculum opportunities for clinical experience that provide exposure to a diverse population of patients.

Structure the interactions among the student, the patient, and the clinical faculty member to optimize the value of the clinical faculty member as a role model for the student.

Provide opportunities in the curriculum for students to develop their written, verbal, non-verbal, and cross-cultural professional communication skills.

Structure the interactions among the student, the patient, and the clinical faculty member to optimize the value of the clinical faculty member as a role model for the student.

Instill in students a sense of the importance of patient communication in providing primary eye care.

Instill in students an understanding of the ethical requirements of being a health care professional.

Ensure that students who are admitted express personal goals that are compatible with the principles embodied in being a health care professional.

Provide students with information about the impact of indebtedness on career opportunities.

Provide career counseling and placement information to students and graduates.

Provide opportunities that will enable students to continue their education through self-directed learning throughout their careers.

Facilitate the creation and maintenance of student government and other organizations within the institution.

Encourage and support the participation of students in national organizations.

Select student representatives for UAB HealthCorps, an interdisciplinary leadership program for health professions students at UAB.

Create and support multidisciplinary clinical programs within the School and the University, such as those at the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation, Low Birth Weight/Newborn Follow-Up Clinic, and Sparks Center.

Create and support primary, secondary, and tertiary care affiliated clinics, such as those at the Northern Health Center and Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

Provide externship rotations for students at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and other multidisciplinary sites.

Provide eye care to both ambulatory and bed-ridden residents of Jefferson County nursing homes.

In cooperation with public and private school systems in Jefferson County, provide vision screening and referral services for preschool and school-age children.

Support outreach efforts of the students and faculty, such as the Health Care for the Homeless program and mission trips of Student Volunteers in Optometric Service to Humanity, Volunteers in Optometric Service to Humanity, and Fellowship of Christian Optometrists.

Develop and maintain an effective recall and patient monitoring system.

Maintain efficiency in the turn-around time for goods and services.

Develop and administer an ongoing program of staff development.

Maintain efficiency in the student-patient-faculty member clinical encounter.

Provide continuity of patient care by scheduling patients with a faculty member and/or student who has seen them previously.

Develop and continuously apply a quality assurance program.

Protect the privacy of patients in accordance with federal and state laws.

Develop and maintain a patient database that allows continuous monitoring of the types of patient problems seen in the clinic so that resources can be allocated in proportion to their need.

Ensure that patients, students, and faculty have access to the latest and best technology in eye care.

Ensure that patients with health care supported by third party payment programs have access to the clinical services of the School.

Establish and maintain relationships with community and regional eye care providers that encourage the referral of patients with complex eye or vision problems to the School.

Promote the clinical facilities and the reputation of the faculty in the community and the region.

Conduct screenings for the public when the opportunities arise.

Encourage students and faculty to participate in educational programs in their local school systems.

Provide residency and fellowship training in a variety of clinical specialties of optometry both on-site and in affiliated facilities.

Appoint and support a Director of Clinical Research.

Provide graduate programs in vision science and public health at the master’s and doctoral levels.

Provide support for grant writing.

Provide space and seed money for start- up research projects.

Maintain the master’s and doctoral level graduate programs for both optometrists and non-optometrists.

Maintain the O.D./M.S. program for enrolled optometry students.

Maintain the O.D./M.P.H. program for enrolled optometry students.

Maintain the O.D./Ph.D. program.

Encourage participation in interdisciplinary graduate degree programs.

Appoint and support a Director of Continuing Education.

Provide support staff for the Director of Continuing Education.

Encourage faculty to participate in continuing education programs both within and outside the institution.

Develop and maintain a system of faculty governance that fosters communication between administration and faculty as well as among faculty.

Establish clear lines of authority within the governance structure.

Create and maintain classrooms, laboratories, clinics, libraries, offices, research space, and other physical facilities in a manner conducive to learning, research, and service.

Provide appropriate support staff.

Encourage collaborative efforts both within and across departments.

Create and consistently follow specific guidelines for promotion and tenure and for annual raises.

Offer faculty development programs.