New England College of Optometry

New England College of Optometry's (NECO) ultimate goal is to prepare skilled and compassionate eye doctors who will be fully integrated into an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals serving diverse populations. NECO is a leader in providing its students with wide-ranging clinical experiences throughout their four years of study. The College partners with over 50 Massachusetts community agencies to bring eye and vision care to veterans, individuals who are visually impaired, the homeless, individuals with disabilities, the elderly and low-income families and children. Specific goals for the next three years:Build a new state-of-the-art clinic for students to train and become proficient in conducting comprehensive eye exams.Expand our vision care services to newly-identified underserved segments of the population.Incorporate cutting-edge technology in training tomorrow's optometrists so they are equipped to care for increasingly diverse populations.Become a central resource in bringing eye care to Greater Boston communities and New England through innovative methods and technologies using telemedicine and other linked technologies.

NECO students begin their clinical training within the first few weeks of year one by conducting vision screenings with pre-school and elementary school age children. They continue with clerkships and clinical rotations in their second and third years in varied clinical settings within community health centers, schools, organizations for individuals with disabilities, and homeless shelters, as well as on a mobile eye clinic serving children and older adults in disadvantaged communities. Furthermore, every student in his/her fourth year spends one of his/her four rotations in a veteran's administration medical center and another in a community health center setting throughout the United States. New strategies include:Further develop an interactive curriculum that simultaneously immerses students with clinical and didactic experiences.Establish new partnerships with local, state and federal agencies in light of the new healthcare initiatives.Solidify the optometrists' role in the patient-centered medical home and accountable care organization model. Utilize the College's owned and operated eye clinics for experiential teaching and learning sites for students.

The College's extensive network partners include over 40 agencies, organizations and schools in Massachusetts providing wide-ranging learning opportunities for its students. For a list of collaborators, see NEEI Network and Collaborators under the tab "Other Documents." In addition to the strong clinically focused leadership at NECO, we are fortunate to have key advisors on the Board of Trustees with extensive knowledge and experience in higher education, medical school training, and business. Our 96 faculty have expertise in vision science, biomedical science and disease, primary and specialty advanced care, low-vision, and pediatric care.

NECO has reorganized its leadership structure into a leaner, more effective reporting structure and hired accomplished professionals into key positions.The College and the Clinic received a full accreditation from both of its accrediting bodies.The consolidation of the clinical care system into the College's management has provided efficiencies in cost and operations as well as improved synchronization between the academic and clinical education programs.We are still limited by the restricted size of our main campus buildings in expansion of program offerings. Opening of the clinical campus in two years should provide significant relief.