MATC students don’t have to take a trip to the eye doctor to get new glasses.

The optical dispensary, located in the health building of the Milwaukee Campus, offers students, faculty and staff a variety of eyewear. Students in the one-year Optician-Vision Care program work with certified opticians in the dispensary as part of their course requirement. Using machines, microscopes and a lot of mathematical calculations in the on-site laboratory, students cut and grind down lenses to fit into frames.

The dispensary also adjusts and repairs glasses, and provides many of the MATC programs, particularly technical and industrial, with safety glasses. According to dispensary program coordinator and Optician-Vision Care instructor Laurie Zielinski, students in programs that require these glasses can buy them at a reduced rate. Sometimes the program will even provide them for free. “Many students don’t know that,” said Zielinski.

Every year, the dispensary purchases frames from vendors such as KenMark Optical and L.B.I. on consignment. Frames that don’t sell get sent back, a process that helps the dispensary keep current with eyewear trends, said Zielinski. The dispensary is able to get a wide variety of lens material, with the exception of glass, which is seldom used in the industry now.

Frames range from $15-$150, and lenses start at $30. The dispensary serves about 8-12 students a day, on average, and takes orders through the first week in May.

Zielinski encourages students to seek out more information about the Optician-Vision Care Program, noting that program graduates enjoy a favorable job outlook and that the diploma only takes a year to complete. Class sizes are small, which means a lot of personal attention.

“It’s a very good program. There will always be a need for opticians,” said Zielinski. For more information call 414-297-MATC or visit www.matc.edu.