Area: Accreditation
Subject: Interim Survey Visits
Board Approved date: April 28, 2025

Purpose

The Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada (CDAC) is committed to establishing standards for accrediting oral health professional programs to ensure quality education and readiness of practitioners for the workforce. The purpose of interim survey visits is to assess and confirm that accredited programs continue to meet these standards throughout the accreditation cycle, fostering the highest levels of safety, quality, and ethical practice in oral health education.

Overarching Principle

CDAC’s on-site survey visits aim to confirm that oral health education programs achieve the minimum standards required to meet and maintain accreditation and are conducted with the goal of supporting programs in meeting and maintaining these standards at all times. CDAC may also choose to conduct an interim survey with the goal of overall quality improvement in its own processes.

Interim Survey Visits

In certain circumstances, an interim survey visit may be necessary within the accreditation cycle (i.e. a re-survey prior to the next regular accreditation cycle visit). This visit is intended to address significant changes or concerns that may affect the quality of education or safety within a program or dental service.

Situations that may warrant an interim survey visit include, but are not limited to:

  • Change of ownership or management of the program or facility
  • Significant increase in student enrollment (over 10% of the current enrollment levels)
  • Increased frequency of cohorts
  • High number of complaints from program graduates.
  • Decreased pass rates of graduates on board examinations
  • Construction or renovation of a new laboratory, clinic, or operational training facility Transition from in-person to virtual learning practices, or vice versa.
  • Request from the program, health facility or dental service.
  • Significant student, faculty member, or patient safety concerns.
  • Monitor improvement plans as necessitated by program progress reports.
  • Suspension of programs requiring extension of accreditation status (refer to policy on suspended accreditation survey visits)

This list is not exhaustive. CDAC reserves the right to conduct an interim survey visit at any time should it be deemed necessary.

Procedure

  1. Scheduling the Survey Visit
    CDAC will contact the program or dental service to arrange the interim survey visit. The visit will be scheduled prior to a specified deadline and will take place over a duration appropriate to address the identified issues. The program will be given the opportunity to propose three (3) potential dates for the visit. For Dental Hygiene, Dental Assisting and DDS/DMD visits, these dates proposed may need to be dates when a cohort is in patient care clinic.
  1. Standards and Activities Review
    A list of the specific standards and activities to be reviewed during the visit will be provided to the program in advance. Once a date is confirmed, CDAC will email the program a list of documentation required for review prior to the visit.
  1. Survey Report Process
    CDAC, along with the survey team, will compile a written survey report based on the visit. The report will be reviewed by all survey team members and edited for accuracy. A draft of the report will be sent to the program for verification of factual data. If the program has questions or requests for clarifications, CDAC will consult with the program to address any concerns, revising the report if necessary. Once the report is reviewed, the Accreditation Review Committee will confirm the accreditation status.
  1. Outcome and Accreditation Status
    The program will receive written confirmation of their accreditation status shortly following Accreditation Review Meetings (typically held in June and November), including a final copy of the interim survey report.

Cost to Program

The program or dental service will be responsible for the cost associated with the interim survey visit. Fees depend on the type of program being surveyed and are available upon request.

Possible Outcomes

The results of an interim survey visit may lead to one of the following outcomes:

  • Maintenance of Accreditation Status:
    • Approved (without reporting requirements)
    • Approved (with reporting requirements)
    • Provisionally approved (with reporting requirements)
  • Lowered Accreditation Status:
    • Accreditation status may be downgraded, based on the findings of the survey.
  • Failure to Participate:
    • If the program fails to participate in the interim survey visit, it will result in a “nonaccreditation” status or an “Intent to Withdraw” status.

Website and Communication

Upon conclusion of the interim survey, the program or dental service accreditation status will be updated on the CDAC website.

The institution is required to update all public communications (e.g., website, portals, documents) to reflect the revised accreditation status. This includes removing the CDAC accreditation seal and accreditation certificate if the status is changed.

It is the responsibility of the institution to communicate to students, faculty and stakeholders any change in accreditation status of the program.