Commission on Dental Accreditation American Dental Association (CODA)
CODA is the only dental accreditation association that accredits programs and colleges for offering dental and dental-related education programs which meets the full accreditation standards. Read the blog to know more about the commission.
Updated by Arpit Sachdeva on 11th August 2020
What is CODA?
CODA stands for Commission on Dental Accreditation American Dental Association. It was established in 1975 and is nationally recognized by the United State Department of Education (USDE) as the sole agency to accredit dental and dental-related education programs offered at the post-secondary level.
The mission of the organization is to serve the oral health care needs of the public through the development and administration of standards that foster continuous quality improvement of dental and dental-related educational programs.
The Commission on Dental Accreditation accredits dental schools and programs including advanced dental education programs and allied dental education programs in the United States.
The commission functions independently and autonomously in matters of developing and approving accreditation standards, making accreditation decisions on educational programs, and developing and approving procedures that are used in the accreditation process.
It accredits more than 1,400 dental education programs.
Dental programs that CODA accredits include the following.
Programs/Courses under CODA |
|
Advanced Education in General Dentistry | Dental Hygiene |
Advanced General Dentistry Education in Dental Anesthesiology | Dental Therapy |
Advanced General Dentistry Education in Oral Medicine | Dental Public Health |
Dental Assisting | Endodontics |
Dental Laboratory Technology | General Practice Residency |
Mission of CODA
The Commission on Dental Accreditation serves the public and professionals by developing and implementing accreditation standards that promote and monitor the continuous quality and improvement of dental education programs.
Vision of CODA
The Commission on Dental Accreditation is a globally recognized leader for accrediting educational programs in the dental professions.
Core Values of CODA
The values under which CODA operates include the following.
Integrity - The quality of being honest, accountable, and principled.
Collegiality - Working respectfully and collaboratively towards a common purpose.
Transparency - Being open about the process by which accreditation standards and policies are developed and implemented.
Consistency- Fairness, objectivity, and reliability of outcomes.
Eligibility Requirements for Colleges for CODA Accreditation
The eligibility requirements for colleges/universities that CODA accredits include the following.
The program must offer a plainly expressed reason/statement of purpose suitable for dental treatment training, tending to instruct, persistent care, research, and administration.
The dental treatment program must have a responsibility regarding a suitable culture and learning condition that is consistently assessed.
The money must be sufficient to help the program's expressed reason/mission, objectives, and goals.
Programs must be supported by foundations of advanced education.
The supporting establishment must guarantee that help from entities outside of the foundation doesn't affect the instructing and clinical parts of the program.
There must be a dynamic contact component between the program and the dental and allied dental associations.
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CODA Strategic Plan 2017-2021
The following goals are prepared in the strategic plan.
Goal 1 - The Commission on Dental Accreditation will be a leader in the accreditation of dental education programs by recognizing the emerging areas of dental education, practice, research, and trends in higher education.
Objective 1 - Anticipate and address changes in models of practice and research, and their impact on dental education recognizing the input of diverse constituents.
Objective 2 - Continuously review and identify trends in higher education policy and regulation.
Objective 3 - Identify trends in the scope of practice and monitor the impact on program accreditation.
Objective 4 - Create technological strategies to improve the accreditated program's efficiency and effectiveness.
Objective 5 - Create a comprehensive communication plan to enhance CODA’s visibility.
Goal 2 - The commission will be a leader in the field in the accreditation of dental education programs by ensuring long term sustainability in governance and autonomy, resources, best practices in higher education accreditation, and building relationship, partnerships, and collaboration.
Objective 1 - CODA will realize a greater level of autonomy in its governance and finances.
Objective 2 - It will realize greater autonomy in resource management.
Objective 3 - Build and strengthen relationships by enhanced communication with the organization's communities of interest.
Goal 3 - The commission will establish a global reputation as a leader in dental accreditation by creating and maintaining international alliances.
Objective 1 - Establish and foster relationships with global accreditation bodies and international educational institutions.
Objective 2 - CODA shall continue to develop and expand its scope of accreditation services to international programs.
Objective 3 - It shall consider the accreditation of international sites where educational activity occurs used by CODA-accredited dental programs.
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Colleges and Universities under CODA Accreditation
CODA accreditation provides assurance to students, public and educational institutions regarding the quality and integrity of dental and dental-related programs in that particular college. Some of the colleges and universities accredited by CODA are mentioned below.
Decision Making Bodies of CODA Accreditation
The Commission on Dental Accreditation takes the decisions on matters relating to the accreditation of programs for dental, advanced dental and allied dental education.
The Composition of the Commission on Dental Accreditation includes the following.
Members of CODA | |
American Dental Association (ADA) members - 4 members | American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) - 1 member |
American Association of Dental Boards (AADB) - 4 members | American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) - 1 member |
American Dental Education Association (ADEA) - 4 members | National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL) - 1 member |
Postdoctoral General Dentistry - 1 member | Public - 4 members |
Dental Specialties - 9 members | Student - 1 |
Conclusion
CODA is the only accrediting agency that gives accreditation to colleges/universities that provide programs in dental and dental-related fields.
The institutions have to follow the standards set by the commission to get the accreditation successfully which will help the students to become well-qualified dental professionals.