Dear NEOMED community,
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), NEOMED’s institutional accreditor, will be on campus Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 11-12, to conduct a site visit to evaluate the University’s plans to offer a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree program through the Bitonte College of Dentistry. The site visit is part of the HLC’s substantive change process as dentistry is added to the curriculum.
In late 2022, the University earned reaccreditation for 10 years from HLC following a comprehensive evaluation involving the entire University community. The upcoming site visit will include interviews with University and College leaders, document review and facility tours.
Currently, no open forums for other faculty, staff and students are planned. Changes to the site visit agenda will be shared in The Pulse newsletter and other communications.
The HLC peer review team includes: Michelle Malott, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, Indiana University East, in Richmond, Indiana, and Timothy Cruz, M.D., clinical associate professor, Pima County Community College District in Tucson, Arizona.
Following their visit, the HLC peer review team will prepare a report of their findings that will be shared with the HLC for approval of the D.D.S. degree program.
The HLC site visit will also help the University prepare for an initial accreditation site visit from the Commission on Dental Accreditation on April 4-5, 2024.
The College expects to begin enrolling students in fall 2025.
Sincerely,
C. Forrest Faison III, M.D., Sc.D. (hon), FAAP, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs