Dental Hygiene Accreditation & Outcomes

The University of South Dakota Department of Dental Hygiene has been fully accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) since the program’s inception in 1967. The status of Approval (without reporting requirements) was granted after the last site visit in October 2022. The next site visit is scheduled for the year 2029.

The Commission on Dental Accreditation will review complaints that relate to a program's compliance with the accreditation standards.  The Commission is interested in the sustained quality and continued improvement of dental and dental-related education programs but does not intervene on behalf of individuals or act as a court of appeal for individuals in matters of admission, appointment, promotion or dismissal of faculty, staff or students.

Please note that signed or unsigned comments will be accepted, names and/or signatures will be removed from comments prior to forwarding them to the program, and comments must pertain only to the standards for the particular program or policies and procedures used in the Commission’s accreditation process.

A copy of the appropriate accreditation standards and/or the Commission’s policy on third-party comments and a copy of the reports submitted by the University of South Dakota Department of Dental Hygiene may be obtained by emailing or calling the Commission at 1-312-440-4653, www.ada.org/en/coda.

The Commission, upon request, will take every reasonable precaution to prevent the identity of the complainant from being revealed to the program; however, the Commission cannot guarantee the confidentiality of the complainant. The Commission strongly encourages attempts at informal or formal resolution through the program's or sponsoring institution's internal processes prior to initiating a formal complaint with the Commission.