The American Student Dental Association is opposed to a mandatory one-year postgraduate program or the addition of an additional year to the present dental curriculum. The American Student Dental Association strongly supports high quality dental education, and favors voluntary postgraduate training and the creation of additional postgraduate opportunities.  

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that admission requirements and standards for admittance into a U.S. CODA-accredited dental school or dental residency program be upheld regardless of fluctuations in the applicant pool.

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that dental schools must strive to graduate all of their students by the graduation date announced by the institution at the time of enrollment. 

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that dental schools should distribute student grades in a manner that is timely and fully confidential.

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that dental schools are responsible for:

• Informing their students of all graduation requirements upon enrollment
• Providing related guidelines including initial licensure information and explanations of these requirements.
• Documenting notification to students informing them of changes in curriculum within a reasonable timeframe.

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that dental schools should provide prospective students with adequate levels of current and accurate data pertaining to the likelihood of successful and timely completion of the dental degree, both prior to and throughout the application process.

Such information should include, but not be limited to, past and present graduation rates, student pass/fail rates on the national board dental examinations, patient pool size, annual tuition and fee data, student demographics, and any other related information of concern to prospective students that may influence their choice of schools.

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association that responsibility for collection of dental school patient accounts rests ultimately with the dental school and not with individual students. Students should not receive a grade, an evaluation or credit for the clinical experience based upon the payment status of the patient’s account.

It is the position of the American Student Dental Association to encourage the administrators of all U.S. dental schools accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation to graduate only students who have achieved competency in all required areas. In cases of unsatisfactory student performance, dental schools should provide positive intervention and allow for reasonable attempts at remediation. In cases where students fail to demonstrate competence after reasonable attempts at remediation, dismissal or other opportunities within the dental profession should be pursued.

In cases where clinical or academic opportunities are disrupted, canceled, or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, schools provide alternative modalities to assess a student’s competence prior to graduation.

The American Student Dental Association encourages the administrators of all U.S. CODA-accredited dental schools to provide students an adequate amount of time off from school to prepare for national board dental examinations that includes, but is not limited to, an exam-free window before and after the boards. 

The American Student Dental Association supports the incorporation and continuance of clinical education and training in conscious sedation as part of the dental school curricula. Furthermore, ASDA also encourages the Commission on Dental Accreditation to maintain the support of conscious sedation education in their accreditation standards.  

The American Student Dental Association supports the individual student’s choice in purchasing either electronic or traditional textbooks in conjunction with predetermined curriculum at each dental school.

The American Student Dental Association encourages all U.S. CODA-accredited residency programs to participate uniformly in the National Matching Service (Match) and accept a standard, universal and affordable application and admissions process that does not request supplemental material already provided by the standard application.

The American Student Dental Association encourages all U.S. CODA-accredited dental schools to accept a standard universal and affordable application and admission process that does not request supplemental material already provided by the standard application.

ASDA discourages U.S. CODA-accredited dental schools from requesting additional fees unless requiring a supplemental application.

The American Student Dental Association encourages U.S. Dental Schools to accommodate students interested in participating in national and state-level events related to organized dentistry when appropriate.

Students taking advantage of such curriculum accommodations should be in good academic standing.

The American Student Dental Association supports just, impartial and fair recruitment of an applicant pool that represents a diverse population. ASDA also encourages dental school admissions committees to ensure equitable resources and considerations are granted to underrepresented applicants.

The American Student Dental Association endorses the inclusion of dentistry as a STEM-designated degree program. It is the position of the American Student Dental Association to actively engage in efforts to encourage relevant federal authorities to officially recognize dentistry as a STEM degree.