The Pennsylvania College of Optometry is
accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher
Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA). The College is approved by the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is approved for veteran's education under U.S. Code, Section 1775.
The Doctor of Optometry program is also accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) of the American Optometric Association.
The Doctor of Audiology program at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Council on Academic American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. This is a "pre-accreditation" status with the CAA, awarded to developing or emerging programs for a maximum period of five years.
In March, 2007, the Physician Assistant program at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry was granted “provisional accreditation” by ARC-PA (www.arc-pa.org). This is a time-limited designation for new PA programs that have been recognized by ARC-PA to be in compliance with required accreditation standards.
"Continuing accreditation” status is achieved only after a successful review of an additional application and a follow-up site visit by ARC-PA, which occurs sometime between 18 to 30 months after the program begins. All students completing study in an accredited program (provisional OR continuing accreditation) are eligible to take the professional certification examination required for state licensure.