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LAFAYETTE — The Board of Regents’ elimination of a joint-degree program between LSU Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette this week doesn’t equate to a program loss for students, officials from both schools said Friday.
The only change: UL won’t share space on students’ diplomas anymore.
“From our perspective, nothing has really changed, except what that diploma says,” said Dr. Joseph Moerschbaecher, vice chancellor of academic affairs at LSU Health Sciences Center. “The good news is that it’s not going to affect the students. We’re still going to have the program there.”
The joint-degree program was one of more than 20 postsecondary programs terminated by the regents this week in its latest review of low-completer programs statewide.
Bachelor’s programs that didn’t meet a quota of at least 10 grads were marked for review.
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By MARSHA SILLS
Advocate Acadiana bureau
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The joint dental hygiene program was flagged for review because it has six graduates — which is the maximum number of clinical slots funded by LSU School of Dentistry.
The program was created in 1999 with ULL offering the first two years of instruction on its campus and students applying for an upper division slot with LSU Health Sciences Center. The upper division instruction is held through distance learning technology at the clinical site at the Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic.
Development of procedures, such as a memorandum of understanding or even a 2 plus 2 agreement, will be discussed by officials from both institutions next week, ULL Provost Steve Landry said.
The program was created in response to a need expressed from the dental community to have a regional program that could train and retain dental hygienists graduates locally.
The program is in demand with about 100 students enrolled as “pre-dental hygiene” majors at ULL, Landry said.
Because of the competition for spots — with only six, sometimes seven students accepted into clinicals — students often decide to pursue another allied health field, Landry said.
The curriculum for the program was created to facilitate an easy transition for the students who may choose another allied health path, he said.
Students in the program also help meet a need in the community at the Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic, a nonprofit that provides medical and dental care to the working uninsured.
The dental hygiene students see an average of 25 patients a week for cleanings.
“The Lafayette program is not only good for us because we’re treating clinic patients, but for the community,” said Amy Perrin, 22, a senior in the program from Abbeville.
Perrin decided to apply to the program in Lafayette to stay close to her family. When she graduates in May, she’d like to stay and work in Lafayette, but is open to wherever her career may take her.
Officials at both institutions were confused by the regents’ decision.
In the past, the program has been flagged for review, but the explanation of the low number of graduates at the site seemed to appease regents’ staff.
“The program itself is very healthy, at our location and others,” ULL President Joseph Savoie said.
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