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Schemes

Course delivery: face-to-face and blended learning

The curriculum for the Degree in Optics and Optometry is taught in one of two forms: face-to-face or blended. To access either of these courses, students should use the corresponding codes in the university pre-registration process.

 

Blended learning courses can be run thanks to the financial contributions of companies and institutions that sit on the Board of the FOOT.

 

The two courses have the same subjects and curricular structure. Besides the teaching methods used, the difference between the two is the way subjects are timetabled.
 
Semestral timetables for the face-to-face course
The face-to-face Degree in Optics and Optometry has been designed to be completed in 4 years (60 ECTS credits per year). A breakdown of the course subjects is given in the following tables of subjects on the curriculum of the face-to-face degree course.

 

Semestral timetables for the blended learning course
A breakdown of the course schedule for the blended Degree in Optics and Optometry is given in the following tables of subjects on the curriculum of the blended learning degree course.

 

Teaching methodology for blended learning courses

 

On blended learning courses, theory classes are taken on a distance basis through the use of online teaching materials, which students can access via the Atenea virtual campus.
Practical classes are taken face-to-face 8 hours a week.
The final examinations are held at the University at the end of each semester. You can check all examination dates on the current academic calendar.

 

Other options for taking placements

 

On the blended learning course, another alternative option consists in concentrating all face-to-face sessions at the end of each semester, when part of the work placement and examinations are taken. This option is restricted to exceptional circumstances only. Under this scheme, students will have a much heavier study load. Despite this and the fact that the philosophy behind all university teaching is that students should take on the responsibility for most of their learning, this option may be valid if a number of requirements are fulfilled.

 

The requirements are as follows:

 

  1. Students who wish to complete a work placement in their current place of employment must be in a company in the optics sector or an optician’s. They must also be employed under a contract that guarantees that when they finish their course they will at least continue to enjoy the same terms and conditions as before.
  2. The company or optician’s must take responsibility for the abovementioned supplementary training in coordination with the FOOT’s teaching staff, which reserves the right to assess whether the knowledge acquired by the student is of a satisfactory level.
  3. The company or optician’s must assign students a tutor or trainer at its own expense. This tutor or trainer must hold the Diploma in Optics and Optometry, and must be a member of the Spanish Association of Opticians and Optometrists.
  4. The company or optician’s must have the equipment needed to carry out the training. This equipment must at least include the following:
    • A full assembly workshop with a manual fronto-focimeter, a manual lens edger, a thickness gauge, a spherometer, a collection of organic lenses, standard minerals, etc.
    • A full refraction chamber with a refractor and lens box, a retinoscope and ophthalmoscope, a refraction column, an optotype projector and the basic material required for the proper testing of the binocular and accommodative function.
    • A full contact lens fitting room with a keratometer, a bio-microscope and a large collection of permeable and hydrogel contact lenses.

 

In any event, students must ask the FOOT’s management for express approval to take part of a course in this way.

 

The FOOT reserves the right to withdraw the intensive work placement period for blended learning courses in view of the academic results.
 

Application procedure for the intensive work placement period

 

Students on the blended learning course who wish to take the intensive work placement period at the end of a semester must submit the intensive work placement period application form before they enrol. It must be submitted together with the accreditation of the fulfilment of terms and conditions, and duly signed by the student concerned and the company’s representative.

Should you wish to opt out of the intensive work placement period the next time you enrol, you must submit the signed intensive work placement period cancellation form.