The College of Dentistry, in principle, does not approve the granting of exemptions in medical or dental courses in any year of its D.M.D. degree program.

The computation of the Sessional Weighted Average for each year of the dental program will include the grade that the student obtained in the course while in dentistry, even if it is a lower grade than that obtained while enrolled in another program of study.

The only exception to this policy may occur when a student has completed a Master’s or Ph.D. degree in the subject area and can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Course Coordinator and Phase A or B Chair as applicable, that s/he has a thorough knowledge of the subject area. It will be at the Course Coordinator’s discretion to determine how this thorough knowledge will be demonstrated. Such exception to the general policy will be granted only within the first two weeks of the start date of the applicable year of study.

The following promotion and graduation regulations apply within the College of Dentistry. The grading system followed differs from the general one detailed in the Grade Reporting section in that the literal descriptors have been expanded to include some terminology which reflects competency in cognitive and/or psychomotor and/or attitudinal skills. Details on this may be obtained from the Dean's Office.  These guidelines apply to students in all years of the program and supersede rules that may have been in place in any preceding year of a currently registered student.

1. Students must achieve a minimum grade of 50% or a completed requirement (CR) to pass any course and must receive a minimum weighted average of 60% to be promoted or to graduate.

2. To be promoted from Year 2 to Year 3, students must have a combined average of 60% of the delegated mark in the practical component in the three preclinical disciplines, DENT 320.5; DENT 330.5; DENT 340.4. Failure to do so will mean repeating the year.

3. Students who have less than 60% as a sessional weighted average, but have achieved a minimum grade of 50% in each course, may be permitted to take additional examinations in a maximum of two courses to raise their sessional weighted average to 60% or greater.
 
4. Should a student fail a supplemental examination, the highest of the two failing grades shall be used to calculate the sessional average.

5. Upon completion of a supplemental examination the student will be assigned a Pass or a Fail.  For a pass, the recorded percentage grade will equal the minimum pass grade for that class.

6.  Failure of a “program course”, defined as a course that has a credit unit score greater than 9, will mean failure of the entire year.

7.   A student achieving less than 40% is not allowed a supplemental examination.

8.  At the discretion of the Undergraduate Education Committee, a student who has failed in not more than two courses, received a grade of at least 40% in the course(s) failed, and has a sessional weighted average of 60% or greater in all courses passed, may be allowed to take supplemental examinations in the course(s) failed. 

9.   Failure of a single course may result in failure of an entire year if a supplemental examination or remediation is not practical, possible, or warranted.

10.  At the discretion of the Undergraduate Education Committee, a student who has failed a laboratory or clinical course(s) may be permitted to complete a specified remediation program between the regular academic session (remedial months are May, June, July, August).  If remediation is unsuccessful, the student will be required to repeat the year.

11.  Students who fail a year, if allowed to repeat, must repeat all courses for that year.

12. Students who have failed and wish to repeat the year must submit a formal written request to the Dean for approval by the Executive Committee.

13. In extenuating circumstances, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, a student may be asked or permitted to withdraw for one year. A student must apply to the college for reinstatement.
 
14.  On occasion, unusual circumstances may arise that require faculty judgement to determine if the “normal progress" of a student should be altered.  Examples include the following:
 
-          A student missing an extraordinary length of time due to illness or personal problems.
 
-          A student displaying (documented and reviewed) unprofessional behavior.
 
-          A student showing across-the-board weakness in the clinical disciplines that clearly indicate he/she will not meet the standard for the class.
 
-          A student failing enough components of a “program course” or failing enough “half-classes”, that failure of the year is inevitable.
 
In these types of cases, faculty feels it has the right to intervene and decide on student withdrawal or repetition before the conclusion of the academic year.

A reciprocity agreement exists between the Canadian Dental Association and the American Dental Association making graduates from accredited Canadian or American dental programs eligible for licensure in either country. The written National Dental Examining Board (NDEB) and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) are taken in the final year of the D.M.D. program at the College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan. Once these are successfully completed, students are eligible for licensure in any province in Canada.

Graduates from the College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan are also board eligible in each state or region of the United States. Dental licensing is under the authority of each state in the United States. For details of licensure, students should check with the state in which they plan to practice. Appropriate telephone numbers by state are listed on the website.

Classes for all years begin Monday, August 22, 2011.

Year One students are required to attend an Orientation on Friday, August 19, 2011.

For all important dates please see the Academic Schedule.

Late registration will be permitted only under exceptional circumstances, and by special ruling of the Faculty.

Students cannot register for the full program of study in any session until they have completed the requirements of the previous session.

Students may be Required to Discontinue the study of dentistry for non-academic reasons such as health.


Preclinical/Laboratory and Clinic Session Attendance Policy

Regular attendance in preclinical/laboratory and clinic sessions is mandatory.  The number of available preclinical/laboratory sessions and clinic days, and the number of available days for patient treatment, is limited. Students are therefore expected to be present in the clinic unless the appropriate clinical discipline has granted written permission for the absence, written notification has been provided to the Assistant Dean, Clinical Affairs, and/or satisfactory documentary evidence is provided within a reasonable period following the absence. Such procedures are to be followed regardless of whether or not a student has fulfilled minimal expectations for the clinical component of any given course. For absences from preclinical/laboratory sessions, written permission from the appropriate clinical discipline is required, and/or satisfactory documentary evidence must be provided within a reasonable period following the absence.

In the event a student experiences an unavoidable inability to attend clinic, the clinic office should be informed as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements may be made to ensure that patient appointments are cancelled, or that patients are looked after appropriately.

If a student misses more than 10% of preclinical/laboratory or clinic sessions without submitting satisfactory documentary evidence within a reasonable period following the absence, the student may not be allowed to sit the final examination for that course at the regularly scheduled time.

Lecture/Didactic Session Attendance Policy

For lecture/didactic sessions, the attendance policy is left up to the discretion of the Course Coordinator, but such policies require prior approval from the Undergraduate Education Committee, and upon approval, must be included in the course syllabi.