Press Release
Dental Education program, sponsored by King Abdulaziz University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, recently received the status of Approval Without Reporting Requirements from Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). It is the first time that an international predoctoral dental education program based outside the United States has received such a status from the Commission.
The decision was taken by CODA at their Summer Meeting this August, wherein it granted an accreditation status to a fully operational international predoctoral dental education program based outside the United States.
Prior to applying for accreditation by the Commission, an International Predoctoral Dental Education Program must undergo an international consultation and preliminary accreditation consultation visit (PAC V) process, which includes: 1) completion of the PACV Survey, 2) observation of a CODA dental school site visit and individual consultation, 3) PACV Self-Study and consultation visit, and 4) application to the Commission's accreditation process. The Commission’s Standing Committee on International Accreditation assesses the program's progress through stages one through three; however, a positive determination from the Standing Committee does not guarantee the application to the Commission will be successful. The Commission assesses the application for accreditation at stage four, using the same policies, procedures, and Accreditation Standards that are in place for U.S.-based programs. The Commission has the sole authority to grant accreditation to a program under its purview.
Requirements for International Predoctoral Dental Education Programs accredited by the Commission are equivalent to requirements for U.S.-based programs. Also, similar to U.S. programs, licensure for a graduate of an international program accredited by CODA is dictated by state practice acts; the final authority on licensure requirements continues to rest with the individual state.
A primary benefit of CODA accreditation to international predoctoral dental education programs is the ability to benchmark against Accreditation Standards used by the Commission for programs in the United States.
