DMD Student Promotion Policy

Approved by the Executive and Policy Committee in its meeting on August 8, 2022.  

  With amendments approved, April 16, 2024.

The Ponce Health Sciences University School of Dental Medicine (PHSU-SDM) in its fulfillment of its Mission, recognizes the need to assess and promote students to the next level up to graduation when the students demonstrate academic progress.   

The Mission of the PHSU-SDM is to prepare culturally competent, excellence-driven, ethical dental practitioners with the empathy and academic preparation to provide dental care to underserved populations. To accomplish this, the School is committed through a curriculum design to four interrelated activities: teaching, research, patient care, and service. Development and discovery, dissemination, and use of knowledge toward the enhancement of oral health is a major component of our mission.  

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, managed by the Student Assessment Committees (SACs), will be enforced as all students are continually assessed.   The information gathered by those processes is shared with the Student Promotion Committee (SPC).  The SPC uses that information to make decisions regarding student promotion.  The SPC is based on the PHSU SDM.  Its decisions can only be appealed to the Dean of Dental Medicine.  

This document is dynamic. The Executive and Planning Committee established it in August 2022 and will be modified as deemed necessary.   

This Promotion policy upholds three major principles:  

• Opportunity: students are admitted to the PHSU SDM based on their performance and qualifications during a competitive admission process. We assume students being admitted have the potential to perform satisfactorily in the courses and activities of this four-year program. They have been granted an opportunity to become the oral health professional that can practice. Through our program and institution, the people of Puerto Rico, the United States of America, and the world have the opportunity to count on more oral health professionals that help reduce health disparities. It is our goal that every student that obtains admission becomes a Doctor of Dental Medicine.  With that in mind, the PHSU-SDM will be supportive to make sure that students who excel get recognized and become recipients of the ultimate dental degree. We also must ensure that students who present difficulties through their journey in our institution are offered all the help and resources necessary to overcome them and graduate, if possible.   

• Responsibility:  We are providing opportunities to our students and society. However, it is the responsibility of our institution to make sure that our graduates, holding a degree that reads Ponce Health Sciences University School of Dental Medicine, completed their coursework and attain the competencies of the new dentist, meaning having the knowledge, skills, and attitude to become the graduates that we expect. Our responsibility leads us to not promote and/or graduate a student who even with adequate support does not demonstrate the ability to reach the minimum requirements established to be considered a PHSU-SDM dental professional. It is also the responsibility of our students to identify and inform those students who are most likely not to fulfill the requirements for academic progress.  

• Equity: When circumstances get difficult for the student, and promotion seems unlikely, PHSU-SDM must adhere to high standards of fair treatment and due process.  Students who may face or are facing repeating a year or academic dismissal will have the right to have their positions, arguments, and situations considered and determine if, in all fairness, those students deserve to continue in the program.   

 DUTIES OF THE STUDENT PROMOTION COMMITTEE  

Students that approve all their courses with grades A, B, or C, and demonstrate appropriate professional conduct by completing all the requirements of the program will be promoted to the next level of professional training. Student Assessment Committees (SACs) (there will be one for each year level with the participation of the course coordinators) will provide the information that the Student Promotion Committee needs to evaluate each student. When the SACs report that a student is not having satisfactory academic progress, they must also attest that they have the assurance from the course coordinators and department chairs that the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy has been followed. The latter includes that the students with academic and/or professionalism issues and/or difficulties have been timely notified of the deficiency, have been offered support and resources, have received any recommended academic reasonable accommodation, and are aware of the consequences of not improving.   Department chairs are responsible for the application of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy and need to make sure faculty and course coordinators comply and are proactive in communicating with those students with deficiencies.   

At the end of the academic year, with all the information from the SACs, the Student Promotion Committee will make a recommendation to the Dean for each student.  For students with satisfactory academic progress, the recommendation is to promote:  

• First-year students to second-year students.  
• Second-year students to third-year students.  
• Third-year students to fourth-year students.
• Fourth-year students to graduate and obtain the degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine.  

PHSU-SDM will require the students to take the INDME, but the approval would not be a requirement to obtain the academic degree.  

The Student Promotion Committee must approve its own Bylaws, consistent with this policy and PHSU policies within six (6) months of the constitution. The information will be shared to be present as relevant in the PHSU Student Handbook, but all the dispositions in this document are regarding a promotion committee within the PHSU-SDM. Any incongruency between this document and others regarding promotion will be most likely solved in favor of this document.   

EFFECT OF FAILURE (F) AS A GRADE IN A COURSE

FAILING DURING THE COURSE  

• Students that are failing a course will have the opportunity to take remedial action coordinated by the course coordinator. Each course coordinator will provide a reposition examination and/or any other adequate reposition alternative as an opportunity for the student who fails any examination/academic activity that weights more than 20% of the total course grade. To be eligible for this reposition/remedial activity, the student must have shown a satisfactory professional attitude in the course, including active participation in all course activities. Students will have only one opportunity for remedial for each examination/activity.   

FAILING THE COURSE AT THE END OF THE TERM.  

• Students who fail any course will have the opportunity to take remedial action coordinated by the course coordinator. Each course coordinator must provide a reposition examination and/or any other adequate reposition alternative as an opportunity for the student who would otherwise get an F as a final grade to pass with a C. Students eligible and authorized to take a reposition activity are not entitled to obtain an A or a B as final grade in the course.  
• To be eligible for the reposition activity, the student must have shown a satisfactory professional attitude in the course, including active participation in all course activities.  
• Students who obtain an F in one or two courses, even after any authorized reposition activity, will have the opportunity to re-take the failed courses in the modality at the discretion of the department during the summer if the nature of the course allows this as a viable alternative in the amount of time afforded in the summer. Every student that is required to take summer remedial courses will be placed on Academic Probation.  
• Students who get an F even after summer remediation, students who are not able to take a summer course due to the nature of the course, AND students who get three or more F’s even after authorized reposition activities, must repeat the whole year to be considered for promotion the following year.  
• Students repeating the year that obtained only one F, can be waived the need to repeat those courses in which they obtained A or B, by the Associate Dean. Students who obtained three or more F’s and are repeating the year must repeat all the coursework of that year, except for those courses in which they obtained an A. In deciding whether to waive the repetition of any course, the student’s need for maintaining manual dexterity will be considered.  

ACADEMIC DISMISSAL  

• Students repeating a year, who obtain even one F after reposition/remediation during the repeated year, will be academically dismissed. Students that fail to attend or stop attending any course, clinic, or activities without notice and/or justification to the Assistant Dean of Students for more than 3 weeks will also be academically dismissed.  

PROFESSIONALISM AND ATTITUDE  

• Professionalism and attitude are evaluated in the PHSU SDM Curriculum. That policy assures that this important aspect weights the grades being reported to the Registrar.  Special incidents of unprofessional, unethical behavior showing poor judgment and lack of a professional attitude must be reported by the relevant department chair and in coordination with the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs evaluate the situation and provide recommendations. Recommendations should consider the severity of the behavior, the history of the student regarding previous incidents, the attitude of the student, the opportunity for a learning experience, and if the behavior is corrected if applicable.  The committee will weigh the incident (s) and the surrounding circumstances. The promotion committee must have access to the reporters’ arguments and the student’s written position.   The Student Promotion Committee, after reviewing these aspects of the student’s conduct, may consider if the student will be promoted to the next level, may place the student on Academic Probation, and/or may place a hold on the possibility of releasing recommendation letters for postdoctoral programs. The committee, depending on the severity or frequency of the incident(s), may recommend to the Dean an academic dismissal.   
• The Vice-President of Student Affairs handles non-academic, no professional complaints of PHSU policy breaches. If the situation is brought against the student, the Vice-President of Student Affairs will notify the dean of PHSU SDM to evaluate if there is no issue regarding professionalism that could be a matter for the Promotion committee. If the PHSU policy breach is brought by a student, the Vice-President of Student Affairs will serve as an advocate in the resolution of such complaint following the grievance process described in the PHSU Student Handbook.   
• Decisions regarding repeating a year, dismissal, or academic probation must be notified to the Vice-President of Student Affairs to make the Financial Aid and Counseling divisions aware of the issue and take any necessary actions.   

DUE PROCESS  

Students who get a notice to repeat a year or to be dismissed from the school are entitled to Due Process.  The rights of the students during this Due Process are:  

1. A written notice clearly exposing the reasons for the decisions, the determination, the right to appeal, the venue or office where to appeal, and the time limitation to present that appeal. The written notice must also include a reference to the documents that are relevant to the situation and the rights of the students.  

2. Have the opportunity to deny facts and rebuttal information received by the Student Promotion Committee.  

3. Present information about unusual circumstances such as health issues, family emergencies, and personal situations, that the student considers should be considered by the Student Promotion Committee to obtain the least severe action possible.  

4. Present information questioning the grade (s) obtained and demonstrating that he/she followed the PHSU SDM policy in requesting a grade change in a course.  

5. Be fairly treated and his/her arguments become well listened to and considered when the committee is addressing the appeal request.  

6. Have the Student Promotion Committee and the Dean take the principles of Opportunity, Responsibility, and Equity into account to reach a fair decision.  

7. Get prompt and explained the decision as to upholding the first decision or reversing it.  

The appeal to the Student Promotion Committee of its own decision (reconsideration) must be placed by the student within five (5) days of the adverse decision notice that complies with item #1 of the Due Process requirements.   

The Student Promotion Committee may at its discretion hold a meeting to hear and ask questions to the student, the course directors, the Department chairs, and/or any witness or official that may provide valuable information.   

If the Student Promotion Committee upholds the adverse decision, the student will be notified.  The notification must have the content explained above in item #1 of the Due Process requirements.  The student may appeal to the Dean within three (3) days of the SPC notice.     

The Dean will decide within ten (10) days of appeal receipt.  The Dean may:  

1. Uphold the decision of the Student Promotion Committee, or  

2. Reverse the decision of the Student Promotion Committee and make a new determination, or  

3. Modify the decision of the Student Promotion Committee, or  

4. Appoint an ad-hoc committee of three (3) faculty members who have not been involved in the academic work of the student or the evaluation of the student.  The ad-hoc committee may interview the faculty and student, and provide recommendations to the Dean within five (5) days of the charge.  The Dean may also consult with other PHSU officials and compliance/legal offices.  After receiving the committee recommendations, the Dean will uphold, reverse, or modify the decision.  The Dean’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.