The Mid-Plains Community College Dental Assisting program recently received word from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) that it now has an accreditation status of “approval without reporting requirements.”
Prior to the accreditation approval, the college was required to report on updates and improvements that were recommended by CODA in September 2008.
“I am ecstatic,” said Lauri Rickley, MPCC Dental Assisting Instructor. “It is a big relief not to have reporting requirements anymore. The stress of gathering and providing documentation was tremendously overwhelming.”
Rickley came to the college in August 2009 and was immediately faced with the task of adopting and implementing the CODA recommendations and reporting back to them on the progress.
“We have been given a clean bill of health,” Rickley said. “All of their recommendations have been met and adopted.”
Those recommendations included items such as installing computer software, utilizing digital imaging, and creating a state-of-the-art sterilization area. The Dental Assisting classrooms and lab also received fresh paint and new flooring. New dental units and x-ray machines are being installed this week while students are on Spring Break.
“It has been a work in progress and a wonderful and rewarding challenge,” said Rickley. “To receive accreditation without reporting requirements speaks volumes for the program. It allows us to focus on our first priority here, which is giving our students a terrific education, rather than gathering the information to verify it.
The next CODA site visit for the Dental Assisting program is scheduled for 2015. For more information, contact Rickley at (308) 535-3650 or by email at rickleyl@mpcc.edu.