14 June 2015
The General Optical Council (GOC) is calling on students to complete the annual retention process by the 15 July deadline, or face being removed from the registers.
Students should complete their retention online, together with the £25 fee, if they wish to stay on the registers for the 2015/16 academic year.
Retention letters informing of the process they must follow were sent to all optometry and dispensing students at the end of April.
The GOC informed OT today (15 June) that 1,848 of the 5,150 students expected to apply for retention have done so already.
Last year, 89.9% of optometry and dispensing optics students applied for retention by the July deadline, the GOC confirmed.
It is a legal requirement for optometry and optics students to maintain retention when studying.
A GOC spokesperson told OT: “Students must renew their GOC registration if they wish to continue training as an optometrist or dispensing optician. Applying to renew registration can be done in a few minutes on our website.”
The GOC spokesperson stressed: “Students are legally required to maintain their GOC registration. If they allow their registration to lapse they may be removed from the register, not be able to sit next year’s exams and their final qualifications may not be recognised when they apply for full registration.”
Students who complete retention now, but decide not to continue with their course in September, will receive a full refund.
Students can renew their retention by logging into their MyGOC.
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