Accreditation

The programs in dental assisting and dental hygiene are accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and have been granted the accreditation status of “approval without reporting requirements.”  The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.  The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Il 60611.

The programs were last visited in May, 2004.  The formal report of the Commission following the site visit listed no recommendations for improvement and two commendations.  The commendations are as follows:

Standard 1.  Institutional Effectiveness

The program is commended for fostering cooperation between the programs and the local dental community as it benefits both college programs, enhances the programs’ effectiveness, and elicits a level of pride for the community.

Standard 4.  Educational Support Services

The program faculty are commended for their cooperation, resourcefulness, and serving as professional role models for their students.

At the completion of the site visit, the visiting team gave an informal commendation to Coastal’s dental assisting and dental hygiene students.  The team commended the students for being highly motivated, and for the enormous respect they showed for their faculty, the dental assisting and hygiene programs, the profession and the accreditation process.

The next accreditation cycle will end with a site visit by the Commission on Accreditation in 2011.

The mission of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) is to serve the public by establishing, maintaining and applying standards that ensure the quality and continuous improvement of dental and dental-related education and reflect the evolving practice of dentistry. The scope of the Commission on Dental Accreditation encompasses dental, advanced dental and allied dental education programs.

Dental education accreditation, initiated in the early 1900s, is conducted today by the Commission on Dental Accreditation, which operates under the auspices of the American Dental Association. It is a peer review mechanism that includes the involvement of members of the discipline, the broad educational community, employers, practitioners, the dental licensing community and public members. All of these groups participate in a process designed to ensure educational quality.

The American Dental Association has delegated the Commission on Dental Accreditation the responsibility for the evaluation of predoctoral, advanced and allied dental education programs. Programs are evaluated in accordance with published educational standards. The Commission on Dental Accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit dental education programs. Students currently enrolled in any of these programs and who complete the program will be considered graduates of an accredited program.