American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)

From patients to dentists, everyone benefits from the American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation seal of approval. The concept of dental school accreditation has been around since the early 1900's and this branch of the ADA now oversees the efforts on a national basis with recognition from the U.S. Department of Education.

CODA's mission is to protect the public interest by establishing, maintaining and applying standards that help ensure the quality and improvement of dental and dental-related education. These standards are meant to reflect the ever-evolving field of dentistry and to help ensure that institutions of learning keep up with advances while maintaining quality educational programs. Review by the organization is peer-based and includes oversight by professionals in the dental field, educational field, employers, the dental licensing community and more. CODA is responsible for creating and approving accreditation standards, making policies for the accreditation process and helping facilitate accreditation visits and activities. CODA's Commission Board reviews applications and grants accreditation only after a rigorous process has been followed.

The accreditation process is not mandatory, but since CODA is overseen by the American Dental Association, it's considered vital for dental programs and other allied health educational courses that work with or in the dental field to obtain this designation. The process itself involves an application, self-evaluation, on-site review and more. The Commission itself meets generally twice a year.

Campus-Based Colleges Accredited by CODA

For more information and a complete list of schools accredited by CODA, visit http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/accred/commission/index.asp.