Adams School of Dentistry: Dental Hygiene Academic Policies

The Undergraduate Dental Hygiene Program (“Program”) regularly monitors and assesses the academic performance and progression of each student enrolled in the program. Upon entry, each class/student is assigned an Academic Advisor who will monitor the student’s progress towards degree completion. While students are required to have an initial meeting with their advisor upon entering the program, additional meetings may be recommended depending on specific student needs.

Unit Policy

Title

Adams School of Dentistry: Dental Hygiene Academic Policies

Scope

Dental Hygiene Students (DH1, DH2)

Academic Advising

The Undergraduate Dental Hygiene Program in the Adams School of Dentistry ("ASOD") regularly monitors and assesses each student's academic performance and progression enrolled in the program. Upon entry, each class/student is assigned an Academic Advisor who will monitor the student’s progress towards degree completion. While students must have an initial meeting with their advisor upon entering the program, additional meetings may be recommended depending on specific student needs.

Academic Advisor roles and responsibilities include:

• Onboarding first-year students,
• Semester Check-ins (Review course updates),
• Graduation preparation,
• Drop/Add Courses,
• Overload/Underload,
• Withdrawal,
• Connection to resources at the ASOD and/or the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC-Chapel Hill" or "University"), and
• Dental Hygiene Honor’s Program confirmation.

Dental Hygiene Courses

Students may expect to receive a Dental Hygiene degree by fulfilling all the requirements of the general education, prerequisites, and dental hygiene curriculum. The Dental Hygiene Curriculum includes all core and elective pathway courses.

Grading

Course directors are responsible for evaluating and grading students. The individual faculty member's method for assigning course grades will be determined per the course syllabus. Pluses and minuses will be used following the University's undergraduate grading policy for final grades. Faculty members must publish grading scales in each course syllabus.

Grading Scale for Undergraduate Dental Hygiene Courses:

• A: 95-100
• A-: 93-94
• B+: 91-92
• B: 88-90
• B-: 86-87
• C+: 84-85
• C: 81-83
• C-: 79-80
• D+: 77-78
• D: 72-76
• F: <71

Academic Eligibility Regulations

There are four levels of academic status within the Dental Hygiene Program: good standing, warning, probation, and dismissal.

The academic status of a student is assessed according to four (4) standards of academic progress:

1. Cumulative Grade Point Average
   1. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
2. Semester Grade Point Average
   1. Students must maintain a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher.
3. Course Completion
   1. Students must successfully complete courses with a grade of C- or higher.
4. Clinical Development
   1. Students must demonstrate compliance with clinical skills and safety requirements.

Students who meet all four of these standards at the end of an enrolled term and do not have professionalism or behavioral issues will have an academic status of good standing.

The status of warning can be applied to any student at the end of their first term in the program or beginning of any subsequent semesters if any of the following criteria occur:

• A cumulative GPA range of 2.0-2.4
• A semester GPA range of 2.0-2.4 
• Failure to show academic promise in didactic, preclinical, or laboratory coursework (i.e. clinical skills, safety requirements, professionalism, University policy violations) 

Students who continue to perform below any of the standards while on warning status will proceed to the status of probation or dismissal. Students placed on warning status cannot receive an F letter grade in any course.  

Students who begin an enrolled term with a status of warning or fall short of the standards at the end of that enrolled term will earn an academic status of probation.  Students placed on probation status cannot receive a D or F letter grade in any course.  

Students who continue to perform below any of the standards under the status of probation will proceed to dismissal. Beginning an enrolled term with the status of probation and falling short of standards at the end of the enrolled term may result in one of the following actions:

• Dismissal
• Restarting the program
• Repeating the academic year

Academic Eligibility Committees

Dental Hygiene Curriculum Committee

The Dental Hygiene Curriculum Committee (“Curriculum Committee”) meets regularly to discuss and review students' academic performance in the Program.  The Curriculum Committee will document students earning less than a C- on coursework to monitor their progress.  Respective course directors will complete academic performance reports to alert students of course performance that does not meet the required standards and create plans specified for student improvement.  

Course directors will report any course concerns to the Curriculum Committee chair. The Curriculum Committee can make recommendations for students struggling with performance in courses by connecting the student to resources available within the University or the Adams School of Dentistry (“ASOD”) that may help the student form a plan for success.

At the end of each semester, the Curriculum Committee will meet and review each student’s performance and academic eligibility.  The Curriculum Committee will make recommendations on student progression to the Dental Hygiene Academic Performance Committee (DH-APC).

Academic Performance Committee

At the end of each semester, the DH-APC will review students' performance and academic eligibility based on initial reviews and recommendations from the Curriculum Committee.  The DH-APC will make final recommendations to the Executive Vice Dean of Education regarding whether students will be promoted within the Program.  All academic eligibility regulations specified by UNC for undergraduate students apply to dental hygiene students.  Following a decision by the DH Curriculum Committee and DH-APC information will be shared with the Executive Vice Dean of Education regarding program dismissals.  Students will receive an official letter with information regarding their recommendation from the DH program director and ASOD Executive Vice Dean of Education.

The curriculum committee and the APC will review:

• Student progress in every Dental Hygiene course (semester-semester, end of academic year, and graduation
• Students who:
  • Qualify for Dean’s List
  • Fail to maintain a GPA of 2.0 (cumulative GPA or semester GPA)
  • Receive a grade below a C- or an Incomplete (INC), Withdrawal (WD), Absence from final examination (AB), or Failed and Absent from exam (FA) in a dental hygiene course during the current semester 
  • Are currently on academic warning or probation status
  • Have been subject to corrective action as a result of professionalism and/or ethical conduct lapses
  • Fail to demonstrate didactic and Clinical progression in the program

* The Curriculum Committee and Academic Performance Committee reserves the right to evaluate the student's performance at any time during the semester.

Academic Performance Process (Warning to Dismissal)

A student must earn at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA in all classes attempted at UNC-Chapel Hill to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene.

Students who have grades of C- or higher with a semester or cumulative GPA of 2.5 or lower will receive an official document from the Curriculum Committee and the APC referring them to meet with an academic coach connected with UNC learning center. Students referred under this section are required to:  

• Schedule and attend an Academic Coaching session with the learning center
• Be placed on an Academic Success Plan; and
• Return a copy of their Academic Success Plan to their Academic Advisor.

The following measures, alone or in combination, will be used to address a student who fails to achieve a semester GPA of 2.0 in Dental Hygiene courses:  

• Repeating an academic year; and/or
• Dismissal from the program.

Receipt of a D+ or D in any Dental Hygiene course will result in a recommendation that may require:

• Remediation
• Curriculum modification in subsequent semesters that may delay graduation; and/or
• Dismissal from the program. 

Students who are not dismissed from the program under this section will receive a recommendation based on overall performance in Dental Hygiene GPA and overall GPA.

Receipt of a failing grade ("F") in any Dental Hygiene course may require:

• Repeating an academic year; or
• Dismissal from the program.

Dismissal from the Program does not necessarily constitute dismissal from the University.  Students enrolled in our program also reserve the right to withdraw from the program if they are failing any of their didactic or clinical courses.

Incompletes (INC-)

By University standards, students have 8 weeks to complete incomplete work from the previous semester. If work remains incomplete at the end of eight weeks, the temporary grade will convert to an F.

Course Remediation

A student may be granted remediation based on recommendation by the APC at the end of the semester. Students who are offered remediation must successfully complete remediation.  Notification of remediation will be sent to the student in an official letter from the program director noting the deadline to complete remediation. The course director will set up an initial meeting with the student to develop a remediation plan outlining the required steps for remediation. Students who are offered remediation for a Dental Hygiene course must successfully complete remediation by the deadline assigned.  Failure to successfully complete the Remediation Plan will result in the following actions:

• Recommendation for the APC committee to review or change the student’s academic status.
• Repeat the academic year; and/or
• Dismissal from the program

Remediation timeline: The student will be given the semester in which the remediation plan was instituted to complete the remediation work. Note that completion of remediation will not alter the final course grade. 

Appeal of Decisions of the Respective Performance Review Committee

All actions taken by the APC may be appealed to the Administrative Board of the ASOD.  Students must submit such appeals in writing to the Chair of the Administrative Board (a copy must also be sent to the Executive Vice Dean of Education within 10 calendar days of the APC’s decision.  The appeal must state the ground(s) for the appeal as Section XIII of the ASOD General Academic Policies and Procedures Manual details.  The Administrative Board recommendations are advisory to the Dean, who will render a decision following receipt of the recommendations from the Administrative Board.  This policy is stated in the ASOD’s Policy on Student Due Process .

If, at any time during an academic appeal, a student raises a claim of prohibited harassment or discrimination, the matter will be referred to the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office.

Dean’s List

Students will be named to the “Dean’s List” when they have a minimum of a 3.5 semester grade point with no grade lower than a C if enrolled in at least 12 hours of letter-grade credit.  The Dean’s List occurs during the fall and spring semesters in accordance with the University. All student’s making the Dean’s List will be recognized by the University. The University Dean’s List can be found here and is generated approximately 6-8 weeks after the last day of the term posted on the Academic Calendar. Awards are posted to student records and online to the University Registrar website by mid-February for Fall terms and mid-July for Spring terms.

*Refer to UNC’s Instrument of Student Judicial Governance for any policy information regarding academic decisions when there are professionalism and/or ethical conduct lapses (example: Dean’s list).

Examination Policy

Examination types and delivery are at the discretion of the course director.

The examination duration, information about absences from an examination, and other information can be found in the following document from the UNC-CH ASOD: Adams School of Dentistry standards: Standard for Written Assessment Administration and Security. 

Students will be allowed to use an erasable whiteboard provided by the instructor.  You will attest to the UNC Honor Code on your exam, and we will rely on your personal integrity to use the whiteboard only as intended.

Unless a course director has approved the use of printed or written notes, exams will not be open note. 

Any student requiring an accommodation for examinations must coordinate adequately in advance of the scheduled date of the examination with the Equal Opportunity and Compliance office’s Student Disability Accommodations team.  

Final Examination Policy

The Dental Hygiene Program subscribes to university guidelines for final examinations for undergraduate courses taught on campus.  A final examination is required in all undergraduate courses unless an exception has been granted by the ASOD Executive Vice Dean of Education and the Provost.  Students who are absent from an examination will receive a course grade of AB (absent), which is equivalent to F (zero quality points), or FA (absent and failing regardless of performance on the final examination). 

Dental Hygiene Honor’s Thesis Program

Each academic year the dental hygiene program will recognize up to three students who have demonstrated exceptional academic ability and independent work in their major. Professionalism infractions or policy violations may impact eligibility and consideration.  Qualified students in the second year of the program are paired with a committee that includes a faculty advisor who guides the student in an independent study honors project. The Dental Hygiene Honor’s Thesis Program is supervised through a faculty liaison. 

Students are admitted to the program based on the following requirements which are reviewed by the dental hygiene curriculum committee: 

• Completion of honor’s thesis program application including essay style questions and verification from faculty advisor and academic advisor submitted electronically to honor's departmental liaison
• Cumulative GPA (includes prior to DH program at UNC): 3.3 or higher 
• Program GPA: 3.5 or higher 
• Candidate cannot have any grades below a B- in the program 

Upon admission into the honor’s thesis program, students will complete two independent study courses: DHYG 691H and DHYG 692H. Students will also be required to complete a learning contract which will highlight all program requirements including GPA requirements for the duration of the program, completion of the written honor’s thesis submitted to the UNC-CH Honor’s Thesis Repository and an oral or poster presentation at the UNC-CH Adams School of Dentistry. Failure to complete any components of the learning contract will result in dismissal from the honor’s thesis program. UNC Dental Hygiene also follows guidelines established by the UNC Senior’s Honor’s Thesis. 

Honor's Designation

Is limited to graduates who successfully complete the Honor’s Thesis project process within the program. The designation of “Honors” or “Highest Honors” will be recorded on the diploma and transcript and will be denoted in the Commencement bulletin at graduation. 

Degree Time Limits and Course load Limitations

Bachelor of Science in Dental Guidelines

Students who need additional General Education coursework to complete University requirements to obtain their Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene must complete all coursework by end of July (end of summer session II), so that they may graduate in August of their graduating year.

Course Load Limitations

• Due to the Program's rigor, students can only take courses outside of their normal Dental Hygiene courses during summer sessions and during the spring semester of their second year in the Program. Additional course(s) taken cannot impact any Dental Hygiene clinic, rotations, or didactic sessions.
• Academic overload is at the discretion of the Academic Advisor and ASOD Executive Vice Dean of Education (ex. ROTC, UNC-CH Honor Scholarship recipients). 
  • Students must gain approval from their assigned academic advisor and Executive Vice Dean of Education.
• Second year DH students can register for the maximum load of credit hours in the final semester (spring of the second year) 
  • Courses taken cannot compromise or interfere with your Dental Hygiene courses, including your requirement to attend all dental hygiene classes, clinics, labs, and rotations.
  • Only students with a Dental Hygiene GPA of 3.5 or higher will be approved for academic overload if needed.
  • If taking courses outside of the University, students must keep the following facts in mind:
    • Share what course you plan to take with your academic advisor.
      • If those plans change, it is your responsibility to share that information with your advisor
    • Complete a course evaluation form.
    • All Dental Hygiene students must have 120 hours to graduate with a BS degree at UNC-Chapel Hill.
      • Ensure that you have not maxed out the number of hours that can be transferred into UNC-Chapel Hill if you are planning to take a class outside the University.
        • If you have maxed out, you will only receive credit for the course; you will not receive hours.
        • Once your course is completed and you have a grade, you must have the final transcript sent to UNC-Chapel Hill immediately to get credit for the course. (This only applies to classes taken outside of UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Second Major or Minor Approval

The process for seeking approval for a second major or minor includes the following steps:

• Student must meet with Academic Advisor to discuss details of the request.
• Academic Advisor for the Undergraduate Program analyzes the request with assistance from the Registrar to determine:
  • Student’s current academic standing in dental hygiene
    • Students that are not in good standing in the Program will not be approved for second major or minor
  • Number of remaining courses to achieve the second major/minor (student generally provides this information)
  • Feasibility of taking the required course(s) during summer session I /II and final spring semester of dental hygiene
  • Student’s ability to meet the second major or minor requirements without extending the Program of study.
• Academic Advisor approves/denies the request and notifies the student.
• If approved, the Academic Advisor sends a letter to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences indicating second major and/or minor approval.

Graduation

• To be eligible for graduation, the student must:
  • Successfully complete all coursework in courses required to obtain a BS degree in dental hygiene 
  • Successfully complete all clinical skill sheets and competencies related to clinics and labs
  • Successfully complete all clinical course components
  • Successfully complete OSCEs (see table below)
  • Comply with the ASOD Technical Standards; and
  • Fulfill patient care responsibilities
  • Maintain compliance with University and ASOD student conduct policies. 
• A student cannot be cleared for graduation until all temporary grades (INC), or course remediation assigned within that semester is complete.
• All students must be cleared by the DH graduation exit process.
• Any financial obligations to the ASOD and University must be resolved. The ASOD will not clear anyone for graduation who has a financial obligation to the ASOD. The University will not release diplomas for any student who has an outstanding account balance with the University Cashier. See Dental Hygiene program manual for statements of financial obligation.

Faculty Responsiveness to Email

Faculty and staff are expected to read emails on a regular basis and manage their accounts appropriately.  Allow at least 48 hours for a response due to email overload that often ensues within academia.

Process for Addressing Course and Faculty Related Issues

Students may have concerns during their educational experience about a particular course, clinical experience, and/or faculty teaching style.  

When addressing course or faculty related issues, students should follow the recommended steps in Figure 1 (below):

1. Student issues or concerns that do not involve prohibited discrimination or harassment related to a faculty member should first be discussed directly with the faculty member. If the problem remains unresolved following the discussion, the student should bring the issue to the Program Director, who will involve any other relevant parties.
2. Student issues or concerns related to a course or clinical practice should first be discussed with the course or clinical faculty member. If the problem remains unresolved following the discussion, the Program Director should become involved. Preferably this would be accomplished in a meeting that includes the faculty member and other relevant parties.
3. If the faculty or course related issue remains unresolved after working with the Program Director, the Program Director will contact the Executive Vice Dean of Education as deemed appropriate.
4. The University prohibits discrimination or harassment based upon age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, religion, sex, or veteran status.  If a student believes that they have experienced prohibited harassment or discrimination, the student should contact the Equal Opportunity and Compliance (“EOC”) Office by calling 919-966-3576 or sending an email message to eoc@unc.edu.  Additional information regarding the University’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Misconduct is available on the EOC Office’s website. 

Figure 1

Professional/Ethical Conduct Guidelines

Students must not engage in any conduct that jeopardizes their fitness to practice dental hygiene. The general responsibilities and fundamental expectations for all dental professionals at the school are codified in the Technical Standards and the Code of Conduct. All students must adhere to the policy on student professionalism along with all policies of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("University") and the ASOD.

The APC may dismiss, place on probation, or recommend reclassification of a student at the end of any semester if the student does not, in the APC’s judgment, demonstrate professional conduct consistent with the American Dental Hygienists’ Association Code of Ethics, University and ASOD policy, regardless of the student's demonstrated academic performance.  

A student may be deemed ineligible for promotion or may be dismissed or reclassified if the student has displayed a lack of professionalism concerning the management of patients or during interactions with other students, staff, or faculty.  These factors, among others, are regarded as equally important to other academic standards in that they reflect the developing capacity to deliver a high standard of health care service.

The Dental Hygiene program abides by ASOD’s Technical Standards policy which all students must adhere to.

Students must adhere to all University policies, including but not limited to the Adams School of Dentistry’s Role of Professional Conduct Policy ,The Instrument of Student Judicial Governance, and the Emergency Evaluation and Action Policy. The final decision for dismissal of a student will rest with the DH-APC, the Dean (if the dismissal is appealed to the ASOD Administrative Board) or the Emergency Evaluation and Action Committee when a student demonstrates dangerous or disruptive behavior. If the student is dismissed through the Honor Court process, the final decision rests with the Chancellor.

Clinical and Laboratory Performance Guidelines

Both academic and clinical student performance will be monitored regularly during the semester by faculty and course directors. Clinically, this includes student compliance with the ASOD Technical Standards in all academic environments. Clinical and Laboratory course directors should construct their grading and assessment systems to evaluate students' attitudinal, behavioral, interpersonal, and emotional attributes; intellectual and communication skills; and their visual, auditory, tactile, and motor competence. If opportunities for improvement are required, the student will be advised, and an appropriate course of corrective action(s) will be prescribed. Course directors should notify the Curriculum Committee when students are identified as having deficiencies.  

Evaluation of students' performance in patient care activities requires special attention. Clinic Directors, the Patient Care Coordinator and clinical faculty closely monitor and regularly evaluate student performance in patient care.  

During the semester, dedicated clinical remedial sessions are integrated into the weekly course schedule for all clinical courses to provide timely support to address a student’s identified issue(s). These sessions will be setup up by the Course Director once students are identified via an academic performance report submitted by the course director or clinical instructors within the course. Details related to remediation tied to low performance on skill sheets, competencies and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) can be found below.

If a student's performance is deemed questionable or substandard at any time during a semester, the Curriculum Committee and Academic Performance Committee reserves the right to evaluate the student's performance at any time during the semester. It can authorize a remediation plan, disciplinary action, suspension of clinical privileges, or dismissal. Students also reserves the right to withdraw from the program if they are failing preclinic, clinic or lab.

Compliance

All Dental Hygiene students must attain and maintain full compliance based on state, federal statutory regulations, University policy, and accreditation standards. ASOD is contractually obligated to share individual student compliance data with health care agencies to which students have been assigned for clinical education experiences. All students must adhere to Adams School of Dentistry: Policy on DDS and DH Student Programs Compliance.

Clinical Suspension

A student may be suspended from clinic for reasons including:

1. Behavior that imperils the safety of themselves, patients, faculty, staff or other students, or is otherwise inappropriate for the clinic environment and efforts to make appropriate correction have not been successful or such behavior is sufficiently serious that immediate removal is deemed necessary.
2. Activity, including inadequate patient record-keeping, that poses a risk management issue for the ASOD.
3. Substandard clinical judgment or skills that endanger the health and safety of patients.
4. Non-compliance with clinic policies.
5. Failure to obtain required immunizations or infectious disease testing by announced deadlines.
6. Failure to complete required training or periodic retraining, such as Basic Life Support (CPR) or HIPAA.
7. An isolation order received from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
8. Failure to pay fees due to the ASOD. This will also include a suspension from attending classes.

Summative Clinical Education Policy

Students must successfully complete summative clinical evaluations for each clinical course. Students have one (1) retake attempt for all summative evaluations. If the student meets the 80% minimum benchmark on the retake, the two attempts will be averaged together, with the highest potential average score being an 80%. If the student fails to meet the minimum 80% benchmark on the retake attempt, the student will earn a grade of zero (0) for that summative evaluation. Failure to successfully complete a summative evaluation (first or retake attempt) by the date indicated in the course syllabus will also result in a final grade of zero (0) for that summative evaluation.

 

Clinical Summative Evaluation by Course

Preclinical		First Year Clinic		Second Year Clinic
257L	252	267L	357L	367L	377L
Competencies Gateway OSCE	Competencies Skill Sheets	Competencies Skill Sheets	Competencies Skill Sheets Gateway OSCE	Competencies Skill Sheets Gateway OSCE	Competencies Skill Sheets

*Additional details for course grading criteria are included in the respective course syllabi.

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