KYCO NBEO SCORES

[Purkinja]

Heard someone connected to KYCO say their Part 1 NBEO PASS RATE (first time) was 51%.

If someone can confirm or deny it would be helpful

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[laughter95]

This program began in 2016. No scores available.

KYCO Student Performance | UPIKE | University of Pikeville

KYCO student performance results per requirement from accreditation board. The University of Pikeville is a private, liberal arts university located in Pikeville, Kentucky, United States.

www.upike.edu

National Board of Examiners in Optometry Yearly Performance Report – ASCO

optometriceducation.org

 

[Purkinja]

I’m aware ASCO has no updated scores for any school due to publication delays etc thus will be almost a year behind with data.

However,schools must post scores on their websites so students both prospective and matriculating will have the info.

Scores haven’t been posted at KYCO website but says they will be posted mid 2019.......These are KYCO first scores so will be relevant to students selecting .

My source said that they posted a 51% pass rate on Part 1 if it’s not correct,I will edit with correct PASS RATE

Test was taking in March so it makes sense that the institutions know how they did by now

 

[Purkinja]

Still no posting of Board Scores yet.........the delay makes students commit this fall before the public posting of their student achievement.

Just trying to hold schools accountable to the entering class especially if charging 40k/yr

 

[DoctorOD]

I have heard the same as well. Their website does not show any scores as of today Aug 28, 2019. I would interpret that accordingly. Other universities you may be looking into have already updated their Part 1 scores, so you know the institution has access to that information.

 

[Lakrymator]

I’m in my 3rd year at KYCO now, and I can confirm that the students in the class ahead of me had a poor pass rate on part 1. As I recall from hearing through the grapevine, your percentage sounds accurate. At least that was the hearsay number circulating last I heard, but I can’t remember if it was exactly 51 or 52%. Definitely in that range though.

The dean never actually announced the exact number (at least to my class), but we all got a nasty email about how poorly they performed. At the time I believe they were going to wait until the national average was published so they could compare before they made any actual announcement, but they obviously still haven’t released it on their website for whatever reason.

Another thing to mention is that KMK is included with our tuition, and my class is currently paying for where the 2020 class dropped the ball. We’ve already been forced to go through the big 8 material, and the KMK signature course is just kicking off today. They are trying to make sure we don’t have a low performance next March.

I personally don’t think that the pass rate from the class of 2020 gives a good representation of our curriculum or the quality of our program. This school is in its infancy and the inaugural class only had a limited recruiting potential. I know from personal observation that several of those students simply didn’t take things seriously enough, and perhaps too much was relied on KMK.

 

[Purkinja]

Firstly,understand that I have toured KYCO and am impressed with the campus’s and facility.However,applying students need to shift the focus of their tuition dollars to board passage rates and get off the ‘bling”

It’s quiet unfortunate that entering students are making entrance decisions while a school shields board passage rate data.. ....

Optometric education is in a minor crisis with the increase in available seats for candidates that simply aren’t academically qualified.

The money grab is on

 

[Purkinja]

In other news,Tusculum University (eastern Tennessee with close KYCO proximity) are using need based data to add a school of Optometry .Says first class will be 2020.

I simply ask where are the qualified applicants going to come from?Interestingly,Emory Henry was just 8 miles from UPIKE and also going to add a school of Optometry as well but stopped the process.

Wonder if a developing school ever ask themselves the same question?

 

[Lakrymator]

In other news,Tusculum University (eastern Tennessee with close KYCO proximity) are using need based data to add a school of Optometry .Says first class will be 2020.

I simply ask where are the qualified applicants going to come from?Interestingly,Emory Henry was just 8 miles from UPIKE and also going to add a school of Optometry as well but stopped the process.

Wonder if a developing school ever ask themselves the same question?

It wasn’t 8 miles from UPIKE. Grundy, VA is about an hour from Pikeville, but yeah it got cancelled. There was also a school in WV that was in early stages of accreditation until it got cancelled as well.

As far as Tusculum, it looks like they are going to be on probation after their president left. I doubt the school will open up in 2020.

Documents reveal accreditation and financial challenges at Tusculum University

The surprise announcement that Tusculum University is losing its president came just one week before the fall semester begins. Documents reveal accreditation and financial challenges at the school. Tarleton State University in Texas announced Thursday it is hiring Tusculum President James Hurley...

wcyb.com

With all these new schools opening it’s definitely a money grab, but you have to realize there is a huge growing demand for OD’s while OMD’s are declining in numbers. Optometry will fill that gap eventually, and in states like KY where we have full scope of practice we can push for students to advocate for their home states as they get out into practice to help the field grow even more. Also, I’m personally a fan of recruiting more residency and fellowship trained optometrists.

As far as academically qualified candidates, each school has to grow to develop a track record. A new program simply can’t set insanely high standards until they develop a reputation. Optometry school isn’t crazy hard or anything that requires a genius mind, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication with proper priority management.

Yes KYCO (and any new school) will have costly tuition unless you get an in state seat, and I understand your concerns. Believe me I had them too, but I wouldn’t change it if I could go back and do it again. I love living out here in these mountains, and it provides a great environment to pursue an education.

 

[Purkinja]

I apologize about the distance error.Do you feel that schools should post board scores in a timely manner ?

We can postulate the demand but if QUALIFIED applicants do not choose the profession it’s just not right to fill seats with “at risk” students imo.

 

[Lakrymator]

I apologize about the distance error.Do you feel that schools should post board scores in a timely manner ?

We can postulate the demand but if QUALIFIED applicants do not choose the profession it’s just not right to fill seats with “at risk” students imo.

Oh I totally agree with your thought regarding the timely manner, and I’m not sure what the reasoning has been for the delay. I’ve heard that some schools wait until students get results from their second attempt in August before publishing first time and overall stats, but I’m not sure. There certainly wasn’t anything to brag about from the test in March, and I guess the retake scores should be back in about a month or so.

I think filling seats with “at risk” students can only be determined case by case. Everyone is taking a risk when they enter professional school, and I don’t think those risks can only be assessed by an application on paper (i.e. undergrad and oat scores,
while significant indicators, only play a limiting factor into how seriously you will dedicate yourself in professional training).

With that said, schools that set their bars the highest preclude those who don’t meet their standards, and ultimately these students could very well be highly successful by defaulting into a school with a less than established reputation and lower recruiting potential.

But I see your point, and from that perspective the only questionable factor I see deals with the ethics of the institution recruiting students who may ultimately be destined for failure. They enroll, get themselves in loads of debt to only find out that they never had the aptitude to succeed to begin with.

Additionally, boards are only a milestone set for a minimally competent physician, and pursuing a degree in optometry requires a commitment to lifelong learning through continued education.

 

[Purkinja]

“Everyone is taking a risk when they enter professional school, and I don’t think those risks can only be assessed by an application on paper (i.e. undergrad and oat scores,
while significant indicators, only play a limiting factor into how seriously you will dedicate yourself in professional training).”

That’s true,but Optometry has lowest national board success rate amongst MD,DO,DC,DPT,DDS,DVT.DVT is just a few points higher than OD but MD/DO run about a 92% first time pass rate

Our NBEO doesn’t match well with a 290 OAT and with additional seat availability it will be filled with a higher percentage of low OAT scores.There will simply not be enough GPA 3.00/300 OAT to go around

We don’t need more schools at the present we need scope advancement to draw higher achieving students choosing other professions into ours.IMO

NBEO long range goal is to move to a similar test format as medicine in the coming years while preserving the goal of minimum competency.

 

[Bdf27]

I’m in my 3rd year at KYCO now, and I can confirm that the students in the class ahead of me had a poor pass rate on part 1. As I recall from hearing through the grapevine, your percentage sounds accurate. At least that was the hearsay number circulating last I heard, but I can’t remember if it was exactly 51 or 52%. Definitely in that range though.

The dean never actually announced the exact number (at least to my class), but we all got a nasty email about how poorly they performed. At the time I believe they were going to wait until the national average was published so they could compare before they made any actual announcement, but they obviously still haven’t released it on their website for whatever reason.

Another thing to mention is that KMK is included with our tuition, and my class is currently paying for where the 2020 class dropped the ball. We’ve already been forced to go through the big 8 material, and the KMK signature course is just kicking off today. They are trying to make sure we don’t have a low performance next March.

I personally don’t think that the pass rate from the class of 2020 gives a good representation of our curriculum or the quality of our program. This school is in its infancy and the inaugural class only had a limited recruiting potential. I know from personal observation that several of those students simply didn’t take things seriously enough, and perhaps too much was relied on KMK.

Well, I feel like I should get ahead of this right now. I am a 4th year student at KYCO. You should probably thank us for working out all the kinks to pave a smooth road for you guys. Also thank us for the big iPad you have. Were there some students who didn’t prepare enough or take it seriously? Sure. But for the most part I know the people who relied on KMK and studied hard passed part I. It’s funny to hear this call out coming from someone who has never even sat for NBEO. Having personality doesn’t make us incompetent. Scores for first year schools are always low too. I wouldn’t get too caught up in our scores.

 

[eb520]

“Everyone is taking a risk when they enter professional school, and I don’t think those risks can only be assessed by an application on paper (i.e. undergrad and oat scores,
while significant indicators, only play a limiting factor into how seriously you will dedicate yourself in professional training).”

That’s true,but Optometry has lowest national board success rate amongst MD,DO,DC,DPT,DDS,DVT.DVT is just a few points higher than OD but MD/DO run about a 92% first time pass rate

Our NBEO doesn’t match well with a 290 OAT and with additional seat availability it will be filled with a higher percentage of low OAT scores.There will simply not be enough GPA 3.00/300 OAT to go around

We don’t need more schools at the present we need scope advancement to draw higher achieving students choosing other professions into ours.IMO

NBEO long range goal is to move to a similar test format as medicine in the coming years while preserving the goal of minimum competency.

How the Diploma Deluge is Reshaping Optometry This article summarizes your point pretty nicely

 

[Purkinja]

“I wouldn’t get caught too caught up in our scores”

Unfortunately ACOE is VERY caught up in them as you move toward future accreditation.

The low entering stats pretty much predicted this so really no bombshell

 

[Bdf27]

“I wouldn’t get caught too caught up in our scores”

Unfortunately ACOE is VERY caught up in them as you move toward future accreditation.

The low entering stats pretty much predicted this so really no bombshell

Low entering score? How do you figure. Coming from someone who hasn’t even started optometry school I would bite your tongue. We are the first class therefore we were the test dummies.
Was the school Perfect? No. But it’s new, getting better, and still growing. The school also offers education unlike any other school in terms of laser procedures and other surgical education. I can assure you that the next classes after us will have it much easier, and the curriculum will be much more tailored to pass NBEO.

 

[Purkinja]

“Low entering score? How do you figure. Coming from someone who hasn’t even started optometry school I would bite your tongue. We are the first class therefore we were the test dummies.”

Hello?....I own two practices and KYCO has some of the lowest entering stats in the nation.SMH.Im glad you are good with the business model.Most of us practicing doctors are worried about the future of the profession and the role of our institutions.I think a little accountability in reporting board passage rates in a timely manner isn’t asking very much.

Numbers usually don’t lie.

 

[Purkinja]

KYCO has finally reported 1st time Board Pass Rate for Part 1

53.3%

 

[Andesha]

KYCO has finally reported 1st time Board Pass Rate for Part 1

53.3%

Thanks a lot, your discussions really help aspiring students like me in choosing a school. I have been offered a seat to both KYCO and Midwestern (CCO). I can not decide which one to go for. Both are similar new schools but CCO's first graduation of optometry class would be 2020 so I have no idea what would be the passing rate? Do you have any info about CCO?

 

[Preoptometry550]

CCO's first class actually graduates in 2021 (their third years are taking boards this year). I think a benefit of CCO over KYCO is that CCO and AZCOPT are both MWU and they work together (faculty, students, etc). They have a joint study schedule and similar mock exams. AZCOPT has been doing so well with boards!!!

 

[Andesha]

CCO's first class actually graduates in 2021 (their third years are taking boards this year). I think a benefit of CCO over KYCO is that CCO and AZCOPT are both MWU and they work together (faculty, students, etc). They have a joint study schedule and similar mock exams. AZCOPT has been doing so well with boards!!!

Yeah you are right it is 2021. I agree that CCO and AZCOPT work together and I think it should help me in deciding between CCO & KYCO. Thanks for your insight.

 

[Purkinja]

My opinion is I personally would not attend an Optometry School that had no board score track record,good luck

 

[Youngbuc23]

Hello, prospective optometry student here. I have a couple years before I can go to school, and i'm really considering KYCO because it is close (I'm in the National Guard and unit transfers can be tough), and I feel it's my best opportunity. Also, the cost is more accommodating. Should KYCO still be my number one choice, even with their low Part I pass rates? Thanks for any replies in advance!

 

[DoctorOD]

Hello, prospective optometry student here. I have a couple years before I can go to school, and i'm really considering KYCO because it is close (I'm in the National Guard and unit transfers can be tough), and I feel it's my best opportunity. Also, the cost is more accommodating. Should KYCO still be my number one choice, even with their low Part I pass rates? Thanks for any replies in advance!

Everything is ultimately your decision, but I would be hesitant to apply to schools simply because of cost or proximity to home. Board scores are an objective piece of data that shows how a school is preparing its students for licensing. KYCO as well as other institutions IAUPR, MCPHS, Western, and others have not boasted the highest board scores- not saying that they cannot improve in the future.
According to new guidelines set by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), schools with less than an 80% pass rate in 6 years of a matriculating first-year class, can have their accreditation stripped.
Take this as a word of caution. We have only seen one class take boards at KYCO. If that threshold for final pass rate is not met in 5 years time, that school -or any other one meeting similar criteria- could lose accreditation. Then it won't matter how much money you saved. Your degree won't be valid.

https://www.aoa.org/Documents/ACOE/OD_Manual_%2008_2019_PDF.pdf

 

[ForTheRecord20]

My opinion is I personally would not attend an Optometry School that had no board score track record,good luck

Just wondering why you didn't just ask the school yourself in July? And it sounds like you need to go to an established school because in order to be in a program that is still in its early stages, you have to be flexible and adaptive, in addition to taking initiative on getting things done, such as asking the administration or admissions office about boards scores directly instead of going to a third party website and hoping it would get answered for you. Any stats that involve accreditation (getting or maintaining) are publicly available on the ASCO website. This website is set up as a great resource for prospective students - they are your advocate and collect this data for that very reason. If what you are looking for isn't there, then I wouldn't trust it from another source unless direct from the school or college. You should also consider the entrance data for a particular class, not just assume that the school curriculum or teaching is the reason for the low first-time rate. There are schools that have been around for 20+ years that have similar pass rates to ours. If we were established, that would be an entirely different conversation. They wouldn't have pre-accredited an institution that they thought would set students up for failure. The initial struggle should make you even more confident because the accreditation board will be breathing down their necks for the next several years, which will ultimately initiate change for the benefit of the incoming classes.

Data & Surveys – ASCO

optometriceducation.org

Best of luck in your future endeavors.
-a KYCO 4th year

 

[Purkinja]

Fortherecord20,you misssed my point as I’m already a practicing OD so wasn’t shopping for a prospective school,just making a point on how transparency is paramount for all schools to post data for prospective students

 

[fitdoc123]

does anyone know or has anyone calculated how many questions for part 1 you can get wrong and still pass?