The commission cited issues affecting travel and the short- and long-term institutional impact that continues to evolve involving COVID-19, according to a CODA Alert. The commission also announced that it is unable to process applications for accreditation until further notice.“CODA-accredited dental and dental related education programs have been significantly affected by COVID-19 and will require time to reinstate pre-COVID-19 curricular and clinical operations and prepare for CODA accreditation site visits,” the CODA Alert said.
During an April 2 special, closed meeting, the commission directed that programs that submitted a site visit fee in 2020 and did not undergo a regular/reaccreditation site visit will receive a refund on the fee and be reassessed in the year that the site visit will occur.
In addition, the commission directed that the next regular/reaccreditation site visit for every CODA-accredited program, excluding the programs already visited in spring 2020, be shifted forward by one year. Each regular/reaccreditation site visit in subsequent years will also be shifted forward by one year.
Special focused site visits and application site visits, however, will be postponed until the earliest opportunity to conduct the visit.
The commission further directed that the current status of CODA accreditation held by the dental educational programs be retained, pending the conduct of the program’s rescheduled regular/reaccreditation and special focused site visit, so long as the program continues to fully comply with the commission’s accreditation standards, policies and procedures during the interim period, according to CODA.
The commission also directed that any program scheduled for a special focused site visit due to a potential or identified area of noncompliance submit a report to the commission on the area of potential concern, for consideration at the its summer 2020 meeting.
For more information on site visits and accreditation updates due to COVID-19, visit ADA.org/coda.