Schools Struggling to Graduate Students

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Did anyone graduate late from your school?


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Anoniville

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I've heard of a school that has been graduating 30%+ of their students late since 2014. Anyone else been struggling with this? How are the admin at your school handling it?

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I'm sure CODA requires schools to maintain high graduation rates to maintain their accreditation.
 
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I'm at a state school and I would say it hovers around the 5% mark. Which I think is reasonable.
We've had slight more than 5% attrition, but a couple of those students have ended up in the class below is and will likely graduate with them. OP what school are you referring to?
 
We've had slight more than 5% attrition, but a couple of those students have ended up in the class below is and will likely graduate with them. OP what school are you referring to?

At our school we have about a 5% attrition rate, but since 2014 about 30%+ of students finish their requirements after the graduation date in May.
 
At our school we have about a 5% attrition rate, but since 2014 about 30%+ of students finish their requirements after the graduation date in May.
I mean are we talking like taking an extra week or two to deliver a few things ? Because if so, although that's definitely not good it's very different than what your original post seemed to imply.
 
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At our school we have about a 5% attrition rate, but since 2014 about 30%+ of students finish their requirements after the graduation date in May.
Is there one specific requirement that's really tough to hit in your geographical area? Or is it multiple requirements usually?
 
Is there one specific requirement that's really tough to hit in your geographical area? Or is it multiple requirements usually?



People are struggling with crown and RPD's but 85% aren't done with graduation requirements as of 4/10/17 with two weeks of clinic left before graduation. And 15% of a class of 120 still aren't okay'd for any licensure exam.
 
Is there one specific requirement that's really tough to hit in your geographical area? Or is it multiple requirements usually?

Sorry if I'm being excessively vague, but I don't want to say anything negative about my school.

That said, we increased our class size four years ago and it seems like every class after gets further and further behind in regard to requirements.

85% of our class is not yet done with requirements as of 4/10/17 and probably half will be done within a few weeks of graduation, but our administration still hasn't addressed the issue. We do the know how we will go about completing our requirements after the official graduation day.

Last year, around 50 stayed late. This year it seems like it will be more.
 
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Sorry if I'm being excessively vague, but I don't want to say anything negative about my school.

That said, we increased our class size four years ago and it seems like every class after gets further and further behind in regard to requirements.

85% of our class is not yet done with requirements as of 4/10/17 and probably half will be done within a few weeks of graduation, but our administration still hasn't addressed the issue. We do the know how we will go about completing our requirements after the official graduation day.

Last year, around 50 stayed late. This year it seems like it will be more.

How many total students in the class?
 
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It's Louisville, isn't it? :(

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Yeah... In fact, you two have already talked about it:

Louisville stopped offering the western boards?! That's a huge deal!

That's right. And that was one of the big selling points to my class when we interviewed.
The administration doesn't think they have a patient flow problem but 65 students graduated late last year... Who knows how bad it is this year.

Sorry to let the cat out of the bag Anoniville. Anyone can look at your post history though.
 
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Are you getting any indication that they'll work with the students to address the situation? Or is there an understanding that half of the graduating class is just going to stay into the summer, and those are the brakes?

Best of luck to you guys, this sounds like a tough position to be in if this is true.
 
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Are you getting any indication that they'll work with the students to address the situation? Or is there an understanding that half of the graduating class is just going to stay into the summer, and those are the brakes?

Best of luck to you guys, this sounds like a tough position to be in if this is true.


They have repeatedly said they they are disappointed in us and that there are no plans to help those out who are struggling.
 
They have repeatedly said they they are disappointed in us and that there are no plans to help those out who are struggling.

I had always heard that Louisville is a very strong program. Several of my friends interviewed there last year and this year and they reported nothing but positive impressions - is there any chance that this is an isolated incident happening just to your class (perhaps due to some curriculum change)?
 
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I had always heard that Louisville is a very strong program. Several of my friends interviewed there last year and this year and they reported nothing but positive impressions - is there any chance that this is an isolated incident happening just to your class (perhaps due to some curriculum change)?

Schools will always deliver a positive impression during interview season, always. And they carefully select the students who give those tours as well. The best way to know how students really fare is talking to a variety of students throughout the classes and getting their perspective.
And to OP, some schools do not like to accept reality that there are just not enough cases to go around. I highly doubt 50 students just decided to take it easy and chose not to finish on time. They will likely eventually cave...I highly doubt there is room for 50 students to stay into the summer anyways...There is another class behind yall who likely have a summer session I'm assuming..
 
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Just saw the results from your poll...
Clearly this situation happens quite often...Now to what extent-5 or 50 students, and 2 weeks versus 3 months....that's a significant difference.
 
What schools are known for not graduating students on time besides (apparently) Louisville?
 
So, anecdotes from Anoniville and others were enough for me to give up my seat at ULSD. It was a hard decision, because ULSD is still an amazing dental school. Obviously they're having some growing pains associated with class expansion.

Unfortunately, I don't think you're alone Anoniville, as your poll results indicate. I've heard all too many stories of other schools struggling with patient throughput. Word on the street is that students at my in-state private school (Roseman) are now working to recruit their own patients to fulfill requirements and do procedures as well.
 
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So, anecdotes from Anoniville and others were enough for me to give up my seat at ULSD. It was a hard decision, because ULSD is still an amazing dental school. Obviously they're having some growing pains associated with class expansion.

Unfortunately, I don't think you're alone Anoniville, as your poll results indicate. I've heard all too many stories of other schools struggling with patient throughput. Word on the street is that students at my in-state private school (Roseman) are now working to recruit their own patients to fulfill requirements and do procedures as well.
I can't say that I blame you. I just hope that some things can get sorted out in the next couple of years to help students fulfill their requirements. I'd be all for doing multiple outreach rotations in underserved areas! If I'm still around these forums in 4 years I'll give a status update!

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I mean, on the bright side, you know to keep your eyes open and to stay on top of your game so that this doesn't happen to you.
Very true, we've been pre warned. Got to make it a priority early.

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I can't say that I blame you. I just hope that some things can get sorted out in the next couple of years to help students fulfill their requirements. I'd be all for doing multiple outreach rotations in underserved areas! If I'm still around these forums in 4 years I'll give a status update!

To their credit, they are starting to do that: School of Dentistry expands clinical operation to southeastern Kentucky — School of Dentistry

But 6 students/weekend isn't much. Plus, from what I understand, it's the lack of advanced procedures (endos/crowns) that are holding students back. It'll be a crap shoot whether you'll see any of those in a one-shot weekend rotation. Especially if they're sending any residents to those outreach clinics as well.

The student I had lunch with at my interview even talked about students not hitting clinical requirements. His suggestion was to take on extra patients at any opportunity you can. He mentioned that many students just wait their turn for patients to be assigned, but that if you ask, you can jump to the top of the list and take on extra patients. Maybe that has some merit. A 50-student deficiency suggests that it won't be a long-term solution though.

Honestly, I loved ULSD so much. It really hurts not to be going there, and a struggling clinic was by far the deciding factor. Good luck though. I'll probably regret my decision when you tell me in 3-4 years how great their clinic outreach is.
 
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This is pretty crazy that 50 students aren't going to graduate on time. I was there with a class of 120 and the students who stayed behind to finish requirements weren't surprised to be there. They almost expected it to happen due to slacking, lack of motivation, missing clinic, etc.

I've heard the faculty have made things even easier with mock boards (no live patients) which saves lesions for actual boards. This is a significant stress reducer.

Good luck though. Pretty sad if Louisville has come to this in such a short time span. I also know a lot of students who are in this graduating class who are on track and it's not surprising. The whole 50 people seems fishy to me though. No way for us to verify though. We have to take the OP for his/her word.


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The whole 50 people seems fishy to me though. No way for us to verify though. We have to take the OP for his/her word.

Hearing it from multiple users is what convinced me:

Dear SDN, I am an out-of-state student fortunate enough to be accepted at many private and public schools. I have some questions on the clinical strength of ULSD.

I was blown away by ULSD's new and renovated facilities, but having some close ties and friendship to the KY area (my family raised us until mid-highschool), I've heard complaints from several D3-D4 students having trouble filling their core requirements for graduation, including getting access to patients with complex cases, developing enough exposure to different dental procedures, and not receiving enough competency numbers due to low patient revenue coming in. From what I also understand, the KY patient pool is underserved and definitely needs help, but they do not have the financial abilities to afford even discounted treatments, so they don't come in to get treated. They have a class size of 120, which isn't the smallest nor biggest across the nation's programs, but it makes me wonder how ULSD cannot achieve their competencies for students when other schools much bigger (eg. NYU with 300) are able to do it.

Are these competency sentiments different from other dental schools? Should I be worried entering UofL? Are core competencies harder to achieve for most dental schools due to the greater class size?

Any current ULSD students, I would appreciate your thoughts on the clinical part of the program.
 
What schools are known for not graduating students on time besides (apparently) Louisville?
I've heard this is a problem at Tufts too. I've been trying to get more dental students to weigh in though to get perspective on how many students graduate late and by how long.
 
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Wow, I guess this summer, I'll need to bring my A-game and stay on top of all requirements lol.
 
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With the administrative change announced this week, I think the school is heading in a better direction.
 
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