American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation

The American Dental Association has their own system of peer review accreditation that is known as CODA or the Commission on Dental Accreditation. This organization within the American Dental Association was established in the 1990s to ensure that all dental training programs and related dental health programs were meeting the uniform standards of practices and training that would provide graduates with the skills, knowledge and abilities to work as professionals in their field. Currently the Commission on Dental Accreditation only accredits programs and schools within the United States and accreditation is voluntary. CODA also publishes the status of all dental schools and programs across the nation so that prospective students can easily check to ensure the school they are considering follows these nationally established and recognized standards for education and training.

CODA is able to recognize, through the accreditation process, both specific degree training schools as well as continuing education programs for dentists and dental health professionals that are already working within the field. The process is slightly different for the two organizations and a full detailed explanation of the process is offered at the website which can be found at http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/accred/commission/index.asp. In general the process includes applying a set of standards developed and endorsed by CODA to the school or professional training agency that is seeking accreditation. The standards include areas such as the physical facilities of the school or training programs, financial funding, teaching staff and faculty, administration, curriculum and outcome assessment. Each area will be addressed independently through the review and will include input from professionals in the field, students, faculty as well as outside groups. The multi-level approach to accreditation ensures that information is accurate and correctly reflects the current teaching practices and overall educational goals of the school or program.

The process first starts with the application, followed by a very intense and specific self evaluation by the institute. After this is completed a report is submitted, then an on-site evaluation team arrives to complete their own independent report. The Commission then reviews both reports and makes a recommendation that can include accreditation, changes that must be made or a denial of the application for accreditation. If the accreditation is granted the school or program can then indicated they are accredited, however they do have to renew their accreditation status every five to seven years, depending on the type of training and programming they are offering.