Accreditation Status

Accreditation Status

Applicants often have questions about the accreditation process, so we thought it might be helpful to explain how dental accreditation works and the steps that Western University College of Dental Medicine will go through to earn full accreditation status.

Dental schools in the United States are accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, a specialized accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. New or developing dental education programs are developed in accordance with the established Accreditation Standards for Dental Education, a copy of which can be found on the Commission on Dental Accreditation's area of www.ada.org at Accreditation Standards for Dental Education Programs.

Dental education programs first are considered for the accreditation classification of "Initial Accreditation". The granting of this status is based on an on-site evaluation of the developing program prior to the enrollment of students and the initiation of the program. The purpose of an "initial accreditation" site visit is to determine, by inspection of facilities, interviews with institutional administrators, the dean, faculty and staff, and reviews of curriculum and documentation, whether the developing program meets the intent of the Accreditation Standards.

The Commission on Dental Accreditation, at its January 29-30, 2009 meeting, granted the DMD program "initial accreditation" and authorized the use of the following statement for Western University of Health Sciences to announce their dental program accreditation status.

The dental education program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation [and has been granted the accreditation status of initial accreditation]. 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 60611-2678.

The classification of "initial accreditation" is applicable until the program is fully operational. Students who enter a program with the status of "initial accreditation" and who successfully complete the program are considered to be graduates of an accredited program for purposes of licensure, application to specialty programs, etc.

Further information about the dental accreditation process and the Commission on Dental Accreditation can be found at Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).