PHOENIX—At its board meeting last month at Optometry’s Meeting 2026 in Phoenix, the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), the only accrediting body for professional optometric degree, residency and technician programs in the U.S. and Canada, made several accreditation actions and decisions based on these standards, according to an announcement from the organization. The ACOE follows a comprehensive and continual review process to ensure students receive a high-quality education. The full process for a prospective professional optometric degree program to earn accreditation takes more than six years, requiring ACOE approval for applicants to continue to each subsequent stage of the process, the announcement said. This multi-step process is intentional, the ACOE said, ensuring only those prospective programs that successfully meet all requirements will earn accreditation and offer a quality program.
At its board meeting in Phoenix, the ACOE announced that it has initiated action to withdraw accreditation from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry professional optometric degree program. The ACOE said the school remained out of compliance with the 2025 Professional Optometric Degree Program Standard 2.7 as of the deadline of May 15, 2026. The ACOE may allow the program to remain in accreditation status until it has had reasonable time to teach-out the remainder of the program or to fulfill the obligations of any teach-out agreement to assist students in transferring or completing their programs. This period will extend no later than July 1, 2030.
The program was notified of the decision on July 17, 2026, and the decision becomes final after 30 days if no written petition for reconsideration or request for appeal is received.
Following its preliminary approval status in 2025, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions optometry program was classified as accredited with conditions in 2026, the ACOE said. This status indicates that a program has major deficiencies in the standards of accreditation that comprise the educational effectiveness of the program—putting its accreditation in jeopardy. The program is required to report on its progress to meet Standards I, II, III, V, and VIII and to undergo an interim site visit to assess compliance with all standards in spring 2030.
Both Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry and Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions College of Optometric Medicine have due process rights before these decisions are final, according to the announcement.
The University of Detroit Mercy School of Optometry Professional Optometric Degree Program’s (2027) pre-accreditation classification of preliminary approval was continued, based on the council’s determination that the program has demonstrated it is developing in accordance with council standards. The program is required to report on its progress related to recommendations to meet Standards I, II, V, VI, and VIII. The program’s next scheduled visit will be in spring 2027.
A full list of the accreditation actions and decisions made at the ACOE’s June 2026 meeting is available here.
