State of accreditation of undergraduate dental programs in Chile, 2015.

Abstract

Aim: To describe the accreditation of undergraduate dental programs in Chile according to the 2015 assessment procedures of the National Accreditation Commission. Methodology: Descriptive study. The unit of analysis are the resolutions on accreditation of dental programs in Chile by the National Accreditation Commission (CNA-Chile), accessed from the advanced search engine at the CNA-Chile website. From the resolutions the following information was obtained: Effective date, Years of accreditation, Accrediting agency and the Strengths and Weaknesses of the 3 dimensions assessed in undergraduate programs: Graduate profile and results, Operating conditions and Self-regulation. Universities that belonged to the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH) and to the Chilean Association for Dental Education (ACHEO) were considered in the study. Results: Fourteen universities have a history of accreditation of dental programs. They all belong to ACHEO and half of them are members of CRUCH. The range of accreditation was 2-7 years. The average years of accreditation in private universities was 4.57±1.72, while in CRUCH it was 6±1, with an overall average of 5.29±1.54. The programs have been accredited by CNA-Chile and 4 other accrediting agencies. Conclusion: There is significant variability in the quality of dental programs in Chile according to CNA-Chile accreditations. Programs from CRUCH universities have a better and more consistent quality than those of private institutions.

Desde la Admisión Hasta el Ejercicio Profesional. Una Revisión de las Carreras de Odontología en Chile

“…Lo anterior viene a regular en alguna medida los problemas de sobreoferta laboral encontrados por algunos autores (Monsalves; Cousiño; Cartes-Velásquez; Palavecino; Cerón Benavides, 2017). Además, se puede apreciar que la variabilidad en el número de instituciones y carreras acreditadas ha disminuido en relación con lo reportado por otro autor desde el año 2015 (Carrizo, 2016 *El indicador "Promedio PSU" refiere al promedio de los puntajes de las pruebas obligatorias de Lenguaje y Comunicación y Matemáticas. El indicador es igual para todas las universidades.…”