• “We are proud of this full accreditation status," said Dr. Jeanie McCarville-Kerber, DMACC Executive Academic, Public and Community Services Pathway.

  • DMACC currently has 24 students enrolled in its Dental Assisting program, as well as 23 second-year and 18 first-year students in its Dental Hygiene program.

  • The next accreditation site visit is scheduled for 2029. 

The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) has granted the DMACC Dental Assisting and DMACC Denta​l Hygiene programs full accreditation, with both programs receiving the accreditation status of “approval without reporting requirements." The approval was granted during the February 2024 meeting of CODA.

"Accreditation approval (without reporting requirements) is an accreditation classification granted to an educational program indicating that the program achieves or exceeds the basic requirements for accreditation," said DMACC Dental Programs Coordinator Johanna Land.

“We are proud of this full accreditation status," said Dr. Jeanie McCarville-Kerber, DMACC Executive Academic Dean, Public and Community Services Pathway. “The accreditation approval means that DMACC has clearly met all standards of the profession and accrediting body (CODA). Accreditation is verification that the academic experience has been vetted by an independent review process."

In a letter to DMACC President Rob Denson, the CODA Accrediting Commission wrote that the next site visit for both programs woud be scheduled for 2029.

"CODA had asked for additional information on our programs last August 2023 and a comprehensive report was submitted in November 2023. We are very pleased to receive this final result," said DMACC President Rob Denson.

The current DMACC dental clinic, located on the College'sAnkeny Campus, has 20 treatment spaces. According to Dr. McCarville-Kerber and Land, the DMACC Dental Assisting program can enroll 24 students, and Dental Hygiene has 23 second-year students enrolled this semester and 18 students in their first-year of the program.

“Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene graduates are in extremely high demand. Almost half of our students are employed prior to graduation in their field," Land said.

Dr. McCarville-Kerber said there is a current standby list in dental hygiene where students are working on their prerequisite courses and waiting for a seat to become available. She said if all requirements are met, students can start within one year. 

“We work hard to get students into the program as soon as we can," she said.

“The Dental Clinic is being reviewed within the DMACC Facilities Master Plan," said Dr. McCarville-Kerber. “It's our hope to eventually serve more students but we will need the approval from CODA if we should expand the number of students admitted into the program."

She said that now through 2029, DMACC will continue to follow the formal program assessment and evaluate program goals and objectives.

"The DMACC Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting programs are highly committed to student success and educating safe and competent dental assistants and hygienists to enter the workforce," said Dr. McCarville-Kerber. 

For more information, contact: Dr. Jeanie McCarville Kerber, (515) 964-6394