Bill Underwood successfully defended his dissertation research

Victor Hernandez and Bill Underwood ready to set Bill's
name on the doctoral graduates' plaque.

November 8, 2013. Tampa, FL. Congratulations to Bill Underwood! Bill successfully defended his dissertation entitled, Examination of the Relationship of Community College Opticianry Student Outcomes with Instructional Delivery Methods and Student Age on November 7, 2013.

The purpose of his study was to determine whether student outcomes are a function of participation in different modes of delivery in an Opticianry program at the community college level. First, his intent was to determine whether differences in instructional delivery methods and background characteristics impact student performance in an Opticianry program. In addition, he also sought to determine whether differences in instructional delivery methods and background characteristics impact perceptions of job preparedness and program satisfaction.

His doctoral committee included Dr. Victor Hernandez who served as his major professor, Dr. Bill Blank, Dr. Don Dellow, and Dr. Yi-Hsin Chen. To facilitate the dissertation defense, Dr. Chen, Associate Professor in Research and Measurement, served as the Outside Chair.

Bill is currently serving as Director of the Opticianry Program at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, 
FL. He received his A.S. degree in Opticianry from Erie 
Community College and a M.A. in Education from the 
University of South Florida. He is an American Board of Opticianry certified
Master Optician, registered by the National Contact Lens 
Examiners, and a licensed optician in Florida and New York. He is the 1998 recipient of the Opticianry Education Achievement Award from the National Academy of Opticianry as well as the President of the National Federation of Opticianry Schools. Bill is also an Honored Fellow in the Contact Lens Society of America and past president of the New England Contact Lens Society.

Building upon his professional background and directorship of the Opticianry program at Hillsborough Community College, Bill set out to determine the equivalence of three delivery methods: Traditional face-to-face instruction, online, and hybrid format where students take theory courses online and attend face-to-face laboratories on campus. To that end, he used a non-experimental explanatory research design relying on survey data collection strategies. To learn more about his study, you may visit his dissertation page and for additional pictures of his dissertation defense you may check here.

Congratulations!