The Committee of Accreditation is visiting the SIU School of Dental Medicine in Alton this week. The American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation accredits all dental schools, dental hygienist programs and dental technology programs. Although it is a voluntary process, all schools in the country participate because dental schools have to be accredited for their graduates to receive a license.
Accreditation happens every seven years, and preparation for it takes two years.
The committee hands out a set of required standards that the school needs to meet. These standards vary from very simple issues, such as having a mission statement and a four-year program, to more complex ones, such as instilling in graduates competence in treating patients. According to Associate Dean Anne Boyle, the process is a self-study using the set standards as a guide. It takes two years to go through all the standards and document them in a report. After 18 months, we have to send the report to the committee.