Colorado Adds Degree Completion Programs For Dental Hygienists
The Colorado Community College System announced that two of its community colleges received approval from the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education to offer 4-year Bachelor of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene degrees.
The Colorado Community College System (CCCS) announced that two of its community colleges received approval from the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education to offer 4-year Bachelor of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene degrees. The Community College of Denver and Pueblo Community College will begin offering degree completion programs for dental hygienists with 2-year associate’s degrees in the fall of 2016. Eligible students will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree via online courses.
Four-year baccalaureate dental hygiene programs are important to the growth of the profession. Not only do graduates of such programs have expanded career opportunities, but those with bachelor’s degrees have a credential more in line with other health care providers. This is especially important as the profession moves further into interprofessional education and collaboration.
“I am pleased that dental hygienists in Colorado now have a way to attain a Bachelor of Science in Applied Dental Hygiene degree,” Terri Tilliss, RDH, PhD, a professor in the Department of Graduate Orthodontics at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine in Aurora and a Dimensions of Dental Hygiene Editorial Advisory Board member remarked. While the dental hygiene educational system still needs revision, it is a positive step to make advanced degrees available.”
From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. October 2015;13(10):16.
