The move, which received approval from the Commission on Dental Accreditation, is aimed at reducing the cost of dental education and reducing student debt upon graduation.
The College of Dental Medicine at Roseman University of Health Sciences in South Jordan, Utah, has received formal approval from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) to transition its Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) program from a 4-year to a 3-year curriculum, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year.
According to the university, the move makes Roseman’s College of Dental Medicine one of only two colleges in the national offering students a 3-year program. The change is aimed at saving students time and tuition cost.
“We have worked diligently over the past several years to develop and foster a team-based clinical education model, combined with Roseman University’s Six-Point Mastery Learning Model, to create curricular efficiencies that allow students to obtain more classroom and clinical contact hours in less time,” said Frank Licari, DDS, MPH, MBA, dean of Roseman University College of Dental Medicine. “Capitalizing on these efficiencies, our goal with this transition to a shorter program is to reduce the cost of dental education and thereby reduce student debt upon graduation.”
Roseman College of Dental Medicine will not apply a full 4-years worth of tuition over 3 years. Instead, students will only pay for 3 years of tuition.
“Roseman’s students will save about $130,000 in tuition and living expenses, but will also benefit from an extra year of earning potential by graduating and entering the dental profession one year sooner,” said Licari. “The American Dental Association’s most recent income survey reported that the average net income nationally in 2020 was $170,160 for general dentists and $323,780 for specialists. Entering the profession a year earlier can provide substantial financial benefit immediately, and potentially in the future for those who choose to pursue specialty training.”
The university also received approval from CODA to increase its new class size from 100 to 120 students admitted per academic year in 2023-2024, and up to 136 admitted per academic year beginning in 2024-2025. According to the university, one the program is fully transitioned to 3 years in 2026-2027, the Roseman College of Dental Medicine will have a total program enrollment of 408 students.
To accommodate the increased class size, Roseman is adding additional patient chairs to its South Jordan clinics. New construction will add 24 chairs to the college’s existing 106 chairs. The college plans to add another 32 chairs in the coming year.
“This increase in chair capacity combined with our team-based clinical education model allows our student dentists to treat 4-6 patients a day, offering diverse clinical experiences,” said Licari.
