Dental Accreditation and Certification

Allied Dental

ACCREDITATION AND CERTIFICATION

DENTAL HYGIENE PROGRAM:

The Midlands Technical College Dental Hygiene Program is an associate degree in the School of Health Care. This program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. Completion of the five clinical semesters in Phase II qualifies the student to take the Dental Hygiene National Board and clinical examinations offered by SC Board approved testing agencies. Successful completion of both of these examinations is required for licensure as a dental hygienist in South Carolina.

EXPANDED DUTY DENTAL ASSISTING PROGRAM:

The Midlands Technical College Expanded Duty Dental Assisting Program is a diploma in the School of Health Care. This program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. Graduates are eligible to be credentialed as Certified Dental Assistants upon satisfactory completion of the three examinations administered by the Dental Assisting National Board. The South Carolina Board of Dentistry recognizes the Midlands Technical College graduate as an EDDA, as defined by Regulation 39-13 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.

COMMISSION ON DENTAL ACCREDITATION POSTING FOR POLICY ON THIRD PARTY COMMENTS:
The Commission currently publishes in its accredited list of programs the year of the next site visit for each program it accredits. In addition, the Commission posts its spring and fall Accreditation Announcements on ada.org, those programs being site visited January through June or July through December. Developing programs submitting initial accreditation applications may be scheduled for site visits after the posting of the Accreditation Announcements; thus, the specific dates of these site visits will not be available for publication. These programs will be noted in the Accreditation Announcements with a special notation that the developing programs have submitted initial accreditation applications and may or may not be scheduled for site visits. Parties interested in these specific dates (should they be established) are welcomed/encouraged to contact the Commission office. The United States Department of Education (USDE) procedures also require accrediting agencies' to provide an opportunity for third party comment, either in writing or a public hearing (at the accrediting agencies discretion) with respect to institutions or programs scheduled for review. All comments must relate to accreditation standards for the discipline and required accreditation policies. In order to comply with the department's requirement on the use of third-party comment regarding program's qualifications for accreditation or pre-accreditation, the following procedures have been developed.

WHO CAN SUBMIT COMMENTS:
Third party comments relative to the Commission's accredited programs may include comments submitted by interested parties such as faculty, students, program administrators, Commission consultants, specialty and dental related organizations, patients, and/or consumers.

HOW COMMENTS CAN BE SOLICITED:
The Commission will request written comments from interested parties in the spring and fall posting of Accreditation Announcements. In fairness to the accredited programs, all comments relative to programs being visited will be due in the Commission office no later than 60 days prior to each program's site visit to allow time for the program to respond. Therefore, programs being site-visited in January through June will be noted in the fall posting of Accreditation Announcements of the previous year and programs scheduled for a site visit from July through December will be noted in the spring posting of the current year. Any unresolved issues related to the program's compliance with the accreditation standards will be reviewed by the site visit team while on site.

Those programs scheduled for review are responsible for soliciting third-party comments from students and patients by publishing an announcement at least 90 days prior to their site visit. The notice should indicate the deadline of 60 days for receipt of third-party comments in the Commission office and should stipulate that comments must pertain only to the standards for the particular program or policies and procedures used in the Commission's accreditation process. The announcement may include language to indicate that a copy of the appropriate accreditation standards and/or the Commission's policy on third-party comments may be obtained by contacting the Commission at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, or by calling 1 (800) 621-8099, extension 4653.

TYPES OF COMMENTS CONSIDERED:
All comments submitted must pertain only to the standards relative to the particular program being reviewed or policies and procedures used in the accreditation process. Comments will be screened by Commission staff for relevancy. For comments not relevant to these issues, the individual will be notified that the comment is not related to accreditation and, where appropriate, referred to the appropriate agency. For those individuals who are interested in submitting comments, requests can be made to the Commission office for receiving standards and/or the Commission's Evaluation and Operational Policies and Procedures (EOPP).

MANAGEMENT OF COMMENTS:
All relevant comments will be referred to the program at least 50 days prior to the site visit for review and response. A written response from the program should be provided to the Commission office and the site visit team 15 days prior to the site visit. Adjustments may be necessary in the site visit schedule to allow discussion of comments with proper personnel.