Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Dental Assisting is to educate and train
students for entry-level positions as qualified chairside dental assisting
professionals.

Program Goals:

Upon graduation, the dental assisting student will:

1. Be able to apply the principles of dental assisting theory and practice required to carry out operatory, laboratory, and office procedures which support the delivery of dental care.
2. Practice using the highest level of professional ethics, jurisprudence, and professional conduct necessary to deliver quality dental care to the public.

I. Executive Summary

The Dental Assisting Program Assessment Plan was developed in 1994 and is reviewed annually by the faculty. Since its development, the original program goals have been maintained, but the assessment tools have changed. The outcome measures used by the Dental Assisting Program to evaluate students' understanding of dental assisting theory, practices and principles include: scores on the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB), externship evaluations, clinical skill assessments, clinical rotations, employer surveys, graduate surveys, and mock board scores.

Dental Education has utilized the information derived from its assessment tools to improve the overall curriculum, individual courses and to enhance student learning. A successful accreditation review, increased retention rates, and stable board scores are measures of the programs success in meeting its goals.

II. Educational Goals And Assessment Techniques Used To Measure Those Goals.

Assessment Tools

III. INSTRUMENTATION AND DOCUMENTATION

1. Dental Assisting National Board Examination
The examination assesses the capability of the graduate to recall information from the general studies, basic biomedical, dental and dental assisting sciences and their ability to apply such information in a problem-solving con text.
2. Accreditation Review
Site visit accreditation evaluates the extent to which programs and goals, institutional objective and approved accreditation standards met.
3. Externship Evaluations
Students are evaluated on the professionalism, skills and overall performance at each of the externship assignments. The feedback from the offices is shared with individual student for their improvement. The feedback has been used to make organizational and curricula changes. Evaluations are used to assess the overall preparedness of the student while rotating through the various dental practices indicating strengths and weaknesses of both the student and the program. Both IU South Bend faculty and participating dentists evaluate the students overall performance.
4. Employer Surveys
Surveys evaluate the extent to which employers feel the graduates are prepared for entry-level positions in dental offices.
5. Alumni Surveys
Surveys evaluate how well the program has prepared the graduates for their positions in the dental community.
6. Course Grades
The American Dental Association requires documentation of passing rates in every course is monitor as a measure of student success. Dental Education has therefore, adopted this tool as part of our assessment process.

7. Clinical Competency Assessments
Skill assessments are used to measure how well each student has mastered basic
clinical skills. These skills are measured in both preclinic labs and clinical rotations.

IV. DETAILED ANALYSIS OF DATA

The assessment data that is collected annually is used to make changes in the scope, sequence and content of the Dental Assisting curriculum. The faculty have worked on improving the passing rate on the DANB for the last several years. Since 2000, the passing rate has been above 60% with a high of 80%. However, in the radiology section of the exam the lowest passing rate was 91%. This clearly demonstrates that student are capable of passing the exam, but do not see the need to prepare for the remaining sections. This is very disappointing to the faculty.

The clinical competency assessments were extended into the externship phase of the program two years ago. During the final semester, students have to demonstrate increasing competency in four core clinical skills. This tool has focused student's attention on mastering the skills and has resulted in better overall evaluations.

The addition of internal/course embedded assessment (clinical competency assessment and the externship evaluation have helped shape several changes. The changes include:
1) Increasing the credit hours in H303 Radiology Lecture and H131 Dental Materials, two of the three core courses.
2) Replacing some lab hours for clinical hours in A171 Clinical Practice I . This has enable students to be better prepared for A171 Clinic Practice II Externship.
3) Using competency based evaluations in the clinical practice courses.
4) Using a mock board examination to reinforce didactic information and assisting students in passing the DANB.

The changes have resulted in a strong emphasis on the core skills, knowledge and abilities. As a result, student evaluation from externships has improved; the accreditation review was very successful and student feedback is positive.

V. SUMMARY OF ACTIONS TAKEN

Several changes have been made in the curriculum as a result of program assessment. An action plan for program improvement was developed as a result of the low passing rate on the 2000 Dental Assisting National Board Exam. Many suggestions in the plan related to improving courses. Clinical competencies and a mock board were then developed to assess the impact of the changes on the program. Overall, the changes were effective and DANB passing rate continues in the range of 60 - 80 %. More recent changes include a revision in internship evaluations which have improved student performance on basic skills. The Dental Assisting Program was fully re-accredited after the December 2004 site visit which prided an external evaluation of the program's goals and objectives

VI. PROPOSED NEXT STEPS.

We have begun to develop a more precise course evaluation process utilizing a Curriculum Review Course Report. The report is to be completed by each course instructor and reviewed by the program director and full-time faculty. Upon review, faculty can determine which areas of the curriculum need to be strengthen; need resources, and more coordination. We will be reviewing the forms, making changes, and then fully implementing this reporting and review.

We will continue to work on increasing the scores on the DANB. Faculty considers this a benchmark of program quality. We also consider it an important professional goal for out students.

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