Notice of Initial Acreditation for Advanced Education Program in Periodontics
Third Party Comments

To: All Interested Parties
From: Dr. Marcelino Negrón-Berríos
Director, Advanced Education Program in Periodontics
Date: December 10, 2021

Re: Notice of Third Party Comments

The Advanced Education Program in Periodontics of the School of Dental Medicine will be undergoing the American Dental Association’s initial accreditation process in the 1st floor of the Medical Sciences Campus, School of Dental Medicine on March 15, 2022. In compliance with the Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation, the School of Dental Medicine requests that any comments pertaining to the standards, policies and procedures used in the Commissions accreditation process should be made in writing and mailed to the following address:



Comments are due in the Commission’s office no later than January 15, 2022 Comments must be signed, however signatures will be removed from comments prior to forwarding them to the dental program.

Information regarding the Commissions standards and policies can be found at the www.ada.org or the address listed above.

POSTING FORM FOR POLICY ON THIRD PARTY COMMENTS

The Commission currently publishes, in its accredited lists of programs, the year of the next site visit for each program it accredits. In addition, the Commission posts its spring and fall announcements on the Accreditation News area of the ADA website for those programs being site visited January through June or July through December. Developing programs submitting applications for initial accreditation may be scheduled for site visits after the posting on the ADA website; thus, the specific dates of these site visits will not be available for publication. These programs will be listed in the Accreditation Announcements with a special notation that the developing programs have submitted applications for initial accreditation and have been scheduled for site visits. Parties interested in these specific dates (should they be established) are welcomed/encouraged to contact the Commission office.

The United States Department of Education (USDE) procedures require accrediting agencies to provide an opportunity for third-party comment, either in writing or at a public hearing (at the accrediting agencies’ discretion) with respect to institutions or programs scheduled for review. All comments must relate to accreditation standards for the discipline and required accreditation policies. In order to comply with the Department’s requirement on the use of third-party comment regarding program’s qualifications for accreditation or initial accreditation, the following procedures have been developed Programs with the status of initial accreditation, and programs seeking initial accreditation must solicit comment through appropriate notification of communities of interest and the public such as faculty, students, program administrators, specialty and dental-related organizations, patients, and consumers.

The Commission will request written comments from interested parties in the spring and fall Accreditation Announcements on the ADA website. All comments relative to programs being visited will be due in the Commission office no later than sixty (60) days prior to each program’s site visit to allow time for the program to respond. Therefore, programs being site-visited in January through June will be listed in the fall posting of the previous year and programs scheduled for a site visit from July through December will be listed in the spring posting of the current year. Any unresolved issues related to the program’s compliance with the accreditation standards will be reviewed by the visiting committee while on-site.

Those programs scheduled for review must solicit third-party comments through appropriate notification of communities of interest and the public such as faculty, students, program administrators, specialty and dental-related organizations, patients, and consumers at least ninety (90) days prior to their site visit. The notice should indicate the deadline of sixty (60) days for receipt of third-party comments in the Commission office and should stipulate that comments must be signed, that signatures will be removed from comments prior to forwarding them to the program, and that comments must pertain only to the standards for the particular program or policies and procedures used in the Commission’s accreditation process. The announcement may include language to indicate that a copy of the appropriate accreditation standards and/or the Commission’s policy on third-party comments may be obtained by contacting the Commission at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, or by calling 1/800-621-8099, extension 4653.

All comments submitted must pertain only to the standards relative to the particular program being reviewed or policies and procedures used in the accreditation process. Comments will be screened by Commission staff for relevancy. Only signed comments will be considered. For comments not relevant to these issues, the individual will be notified that the comment is not related to accreditation and, where appropriate, referred to the appropriate agency. For those individuals who are interested in submitting comments, requests may be made to the Commission office.

All relevant comments will have signatures removed and will then be referred to the program at least fifty (50) days prior to the site visit for review and response. A written response from the program should be provided to the Commission office and the visiting committee fifteen (15) days prior to the site visit. Adjustments may be necessary in the site visit schedule to allow discussion of comments with proper personnel. Negative comments received after the established deadline of sixty (60) days prior to the site visit will be handled as a complaint.


INSTITUTION: University of Puerto Rico, School of Dental Medicine
PROGRAM(S) TO BE REVIEWED: Advanced Education Program in Periodontics
SITE VISIT DATE: March 15, 2022