(January 27, 2021)

Dental Education Standards

Dental Education Standards(1) The Dental Education Standards (hereinafter the “Standards”) were established through indepth discussions based on the final version of the Accreditation Standards for Dental
Education (March 2017) formulated by the Accreditation Review Working Group on Dental
Education, in order for the Japan University Accreditation Association (hereinafter “JUAA”) to
evaluate each specialized field of dental education. The purpose is to assure, maintain, andimprove the quality of dental education in undergraduate programs (hereinafter “dental
education (undergraduate programs)”).
(2) Under the Standards, the basic mission of universities and faculties providing dental education(undergraduate programs) (hereinafter “dental schools”) is to foster dentists capable ofproviding safe, high-quality medical care while acquiring the necessary knowledge andproblem-solving abilities for the ever-advancing field of dental medicine, enhancing clinicalskills, and developing communication skills to build good relationships with patients and theirfamilies. In addition, it is necessary to cultivate dentists who can provide team-based care incooperation with other medical professionals, participate in academic and research activities
for the development of medicine and medical treatment, pursue academic studies throughout
their lives, and contribute to local and international communities.
(3) As a guideline for universities to maintain and improve appropriate standards of education andresearch, JUAA has established and revised such standards as the “University Standards” toevaluate universities. The Standards are positioned as one of the JUAA standards, with the“University Standards” placed at the top.
(4) The Standards comprise the following five key items:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Mission and Purpose
Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomesStudent Enrollment
Faculty and Faculty Organization
Self-study(5) Each key item of the Standards is composed of the “text” and “perspectives of evaluation.”
The “text” defines the objectives of the items and outlines the elements necessary for dental
education (undergraduate programs) to fulfill the basic mission, and for each dental school toachieve its own purpose.
Specified based on the objectives of the text, the “perspectives of evaluation” refer toindividual points of focus that need to be addressed by (1) dental schools when conducting
self-study and (2) JUAA when conducting the certified evaluation and accreditation. To
interpret and apply each perspective of evaluation, the schools are required to understand theobjectives stated in the text and pay sufficient attention to the interconnections and otheraspects.

- 1 -(6) The evaluations in each perspective of evaluation are described in the “overview,” and“comments” are added, if necessary, according to the table below.
Type of comment
Commendations
Distinctive features
Suggestions for
improvement
Areas of serious
concern

Content
Outstanding efforts that serve as a model andreference for other universities
Approaches unique to the university
Issues to be addressed for maintaining and improving
quality
Serious problems that require correction(7) Final decisions on whether dental schools meet the Standards are made based on acomprehensive evaluation of the progress in addressing the “areas of serious concern.”
Specifically, the schools will be judged to have failed to meet the Standards if deemed to haveserious problems with the quality of dental education (undergraduate programs), following areview of the areas of serious concern.
(8) JUAA has established an “improvement report” system to continuously support dental
schools’ quality maintenance and improvement efforts even after the evaluation is completed.
The schools that received evaluation results including “suggestions for improvement” and“areas of serious concern” are required to outline their efforts to address these issues in an
improvement report and submit it by a specified date.

- 2 -Dental Education Standards
Enacted January 27, 2021
1. Mission and Purpose
Dentists bear the social responsibility of “contributing to the improvement and promotion of publichealth and ensuring the healthy lives of people by providing dental care and health guidance(Dental Practitioners Act, Article 1).” The basic mission of dental education in undergraduate
programs (hereinafter “dental education (undergraduate programs)”) is to foster dentists capableof providing safe, high-quality medical care while not only fulfilling their social responsibility but alsoacquiring the necessary knowledge and problem-solving abilities for the ever-advancing field ofdental medicine with international trends and social changes in mind, enhancing clinical skills,
developing communication skills to build good relationships with patients and their families, andresponding to the diversifying needs of the public. In addition, efforts must be made to cultivate
dentists who can provide team-based care in cooperation with other medical fields, participate inacademic and research activities for the development of medicine and medical treatment, pursue
academic studies throughout their lives, and contribute to local and international communities
through oral health activities for all age groups, including newborns and the elderly.
Under the basic mission, each dental school is required to formulate its own purpose of dental
education (undergraduate programs) and clarify its vision for human resource development in linewith its mission and purpose. It is also necessary to widely disseminate this purpose to the generalpublic as well as academic and administrative staff members and students. In light of the above
mission, dental schools should constantly verify the appropriateness of their purposes of dental
education (undergraduate programs) and make revisions according to the needs of the times.

Item
Mission andpurpose

Review of
the purpose

Perspectives of evaluation
1-1

The purpose is defined to clarify a vision for human resource
development under the basic mission of dental education(undergraduate programs), and the mission and purpose of theuniversity that established dental education (undergraduate
programs).

1-2

The purpose of dental education (undergraduate programs) isdisseminated to academic and administrative staff and students, and isalso widely known to the general public.

1-3

The appropriateness of the purpose of(undergraduate programs) is regularly verified.

- 3 -dentaleducation

2. Educational Content, Methods, and Outcomes
Dental schools must design and implement curricula to fulfill the basic mission of dental education(undergraduate programs) and achieve their own purposes. To this end, the schools are required
to formulate a diploma policy and establish a curriculum policy based on the diploma policy. It isalso important to widely disseminate these policies to academic and administrative staff, students,
and the general public.
To design and implement curricula, dental schools must follow the established diploma andcurriculum policies; arrange undergraduate courses aimed at fostering the knowledge and skills to
respond to social changes, nurturing wide-ranging, profound knowledge and culture as well ascomprehensive decision-making abilities, and cultivating students with well-rounded character
traits; and include the dental education model core curriculum. The schools must also use
appropriate class styles and methods for each subject and properly provide the necessary facilities,
equipment, and support systems to implement their curricula.
Meanwhile, dental education (undergraduate programs) requires clinical clerkships to train
dentists able to address various patient needs. To provide this training, dental schools must createa management system and its environment, and help students acquire the sufficient knowledge,
skills, and attitudes to properly fulfill their medical responsibilities after graduation.
To maintain this level of curriculum, dental schools must clarify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
to be acquired in each subject, before grading criteria and methods are established and clarified to
students. Academic achievement must be assessed fairly and strictly based on these criteria andmethods, and it is necessary to introduce a system to deal with inquiries from students about
grading and other matters. In addition, dental schools are recommended to establish, explicitly
state, and properly operate advancement criteria in order for students to study systematically instages.
Lastly, graduation certification for dental education (undergraduate programs) must be
conducted fairly and strictly based on the diploma policy. It is also important to evaluate
educational outcomes by monitoring and analyzing student learning outcomes, graduates’ future
careers and plans, and other information, and use the evaluation results to improve educational
content and methods.

Item
Diploma andcurriculum
policies

Perspectives of evaluation
2-1

A diploma policy clearly stating the expected learning outcomes,
including the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be acquired uponcompletion, is formulated based on the purpose of dental education(undergraduate programs), and a curriculum policy is establishedunder the diploma policy.

- 4 -Curriculum

2-2

The diploma and curriculum policies are disseminated to academic
and administrative staff and students, and are released to thegeneral public.

2-3

Curricula aimed at fostering basic knowledge and skills required as adentist are systematically designed and implemented based on the
curriculum policy. Curriculum design is based on the following items:(1) Undergraduate courses are appropriately arranged to foster theknowledge and skills to respond to social changes, nurture wideranging, profound knowledge and culture as well as comprehensive
decision-making abilities, and cultivate students with well-roundedcharacter traits.
(2) The dental education model core curriculum is included.

Clinicaltraining
system

Educationforenhancingclinical skills

2-4

Appropriate class styles and methods are used to implement the
curricula.

2-5Classes are conducted based on syllabuses explicitly stating thecourse objectives and goals.

2-6

The necessary educational facilities, equipment, and support
systems for dental education are appropriately provided.

2-7

A clinical clerkship management and administration system isdeveloped.

2-8

The conditions of dental instructors for clinical clerkships are clearlyspecified, and a sufficient number of instructors are assigned.

2-9

The significance of clinical training is explained to patients and theirconsent is confirmed.

2-10

The necessary facilities and equipment for clinical training areprovided.

2-11

Students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes are evaluated before thestart of clinical training to ensure the quality of students participating
in clinical clerkships.

2-12

The curriculum is designed to enhance clinical skills while taking- 5 -patient safety into consideration.

Academicachievement
assessment
andgraduation
approval

Evaluationofeducational
outcomes

2-13

Clinical clerkships are conducted with sufficient time provided.

2-14

A system is established to clearly state the clinical skills expected at
the time of graduation and evaluate the ability acquired throughclinical clerkships to ensure clinical competency.

2-15

Medical safety education on medical accident prevention, infection
control, and other safety measures is provided during clinicalclerkships.

2-16

Appropriate criteria and methods for assessing academic
achievement are established and specified in advance to students.

2-17

Academic achievement is assessed fairly and strictly based on theestablished criteria and methods.

2-18

Advancement criteria are established and specified, and appropriate
assessments are conducted.

2-19

A system to deal with student inquiries about grading and othermatters is developed and notified to students, and operated
properly to ensure fairness and strictness of the academic
achievement assessment.

2-20

Graduation certification is conducted fairly and strictly based on the
diploma policy.

2-21

Student learning outcomes, graduates’ future careers and plans, andother information are monitored and analyzed to evaluate
educational outcomes.

2-22

The evaluation results are used to improve educational content andmethods.

- 6 -3. Student Enrollment
Dental schools must accept students with outstanding abilities to fulfill the basic mission of dental
education (undergraduate programs) and achieve their own purposes. To this end, the schools
must establish a clear admissions policy and define the appropriate selection methods, procedures,and other requirements based on the policy, and release this information in advance to the public.
In addition, the selection of applicants must be conducted appropriately and fairly under a
responsible system. Effective quota management is also important from the perspective ofcreating an appropriate learning environment.

Item
Admissions
policy andselection of
applicantsQuotamanagement

Perspectives of evaluation
3-1

An admissions policy is established based on the diploma andcurriculum policies, and the types of students desired, admission
standards, screening methods, and other requirements forapplicants are clearly stated.

3-2

Selection methods, procedures, and other requirements are definedto evaluate the aptitude of applicants accurately and objectively
based on the admissions policy.

3-3

The admissions policy, selection methods, procedures, and otherrequirements are released in advance to the public.

3-4

The selection of applicants is conducted appropriately and fairly
under a responsible system.

3-5

The number of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap(the number to be admitted) and the number of student enrollment
to the student enrollment cap are effectively managed.

- 7 -4. Faculty and Faculty Organization
Dental schools must establish a faculty organization policy and accordingly form an appropriate
faculty organization in view of the basic mission of dental education (undergraduate programs)
and their own purposes. Specifically, it is necessary to determine an appropriate organization size
to assign faculty members in light of education research and activities. In addition, the schools are
required to appropriately appoint faculty with excellent skills and abilities, especially advanced
research abilities, in terms of maintaining the level of education and research activities, andaccordingly recruit, hire, and promote faculty members. Furthermore, it is important to establish asystem to enhance the faculty’s skills and abilities, regularly conduct systematic research andtraining, and evaluate its effectiveness. As for full-time faculty members, dental schools arerecommended to appropriately evaluate their activities while considering their various
responsibilities, not limited to teaching course subjects.

Item
Facultyorganization

Enhancementof thefaculty’s skills
and abilities

Perspectives of evaluation
4-1

A faculty organization policy is established.

4-2

The faculty members necessary to conduct education and research
activities are assigned based on the faculty organization policy.

4-3

The ratio of full-time faculty members to the number of students isappropriate.

4-4Faculty members are appropriately organized in light of sustainability
and diversity (gender, nationality, etc.).

4-5

Faculty members are equipped with advanced research abilities tocarry out dental studies and develop human resources leading future
dental studies.

4-6

Faculty members are appropriately recruited, hired, and promoted.

4-7

A system aiming to enhance the faculty’s skills and abilities isestablished.

4-8

Systematic training and research are conducted regularly to enhance
the faculty’s skills and abilities.

4-9

Full-time faculty members’ education and research activities,
organizational management, social engagement and contribution,- 8 -and other responsibilities are appropriately evaluated.

- 9 -5. Self-study
All universities must establish and operate an internal quality assurance system to assure thequality of their education. To effectively operate this system, it is important that the Plan-Do-CheckAct (PDCA) cycle is organically linked between the organization promoting the system across theuniversity and all departments, including faculties and units. Accordingly, dental schools must
constantly conduct self-study of their education and research activities, and should also receive
third-party evaluations by outside experts, in order to fulfill the basic mission of dental education(undergraduate programs) and achieve their purposes defined based on this mission. It is
recommended that the self-study results be released to the public and connected to improving
education and research activities.

Item
Self-study

Perspectives of evaluation
5-1

A systematic self-study system is established.

5-2

Self-study of education and research activities is conductedsystematically and continuously.

5-3

Self-study is evaluated by outside third-party experts.

5-4

The results of self-study and third-party evaluations are released tofulfill social accountability.

Improvement 5-5of education
and research
activities
based on the
results

The results of self-study and third-party evaluations are connected
to improving education and research activities.

- 10 -