Contents of this page:
Yearly Admissions Process
Specific Program Admission Information

Yearly Admissions Process

Dental Hygiene Information Sessions are held during the Summer, Autumn and Winter Quarters. These are formal information sessions where the students receive the same information, paperwork and application instructions. Each student applying to the program MUST attend one session. The Dental Hygiene packet of application materials is available only at the Information Sessions. Applications to the program are available only at the Information Sessions.

Summer 09 Dental Hygiene Information Sessions:

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
5-7pm
WD-409  

Monday, August 10, 2009
9-11am
WD-409

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
4-6pm
WD-404

Application Period

Application time period is from July to March.

By March 30 of each year, applications are received in the Department of Health, Dental & Veterinary Programs. They are submitted to the attention of the Dental Hygiene Program Admissions Committee.

Health records must be in order by July 15 of the year the student is enrolling in the Dental Hygiene Program.

Summer quarter: Accepted students begin the health record process. This is considered the pre-enrollment period. They also must attend a new student program orientation session held in August.

Specific Program Admission Criteria & Requirements Information

1. Admissions Criteria/Requirements

• The Dental Hygiene Program is a rigorous competency-based program of study. All admission courses must be completed with a grade “C” or better.
• Applications for admission to the program will be evaluated based on completion of admission requirements, Biology pre-requisite grades, and general and basic education grades. Students who have completed additional required courses will receive benefit during consideration based on courses and grades completed. Students who have completed a Bachelor’s Degree will receive credit in the admissions process. A Dental Hygiene Admissions Committee makes final decisions of accepted students.
• Placement testing (All placement testing deficiencies must be corrected by application deadline):
  Math Skills: Placement into MATH 148 - College Algebra OR completion of MATH 104. Students who are awarded transfer credit by Columbus State for MATH 104 or higher taken at another college are not required to take the Math Skills Test.
  Writing Skills: Placement into ENGLISH 101 - Beginning Composition or ENGLISH 111 - English Composition, or completion of ENGLISH 100 - Language Development OR ESL 100 (international students). Students who are awarded transfer credit by Columbus State for ENGLISH 101 or ENGLISH 111 taken at another college are not required to take the Writing Skills Test.
  Reading Skills: Placement out of reading course requirements, or completion of DEV 044 - Critical Thinking and Reading. Even if a student has transfer credits for ENGL 101 or ENGL 111 from another college, they must still take the reading placement test unless they already have an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree.
• College Course(s): Students applying to the Dental Hygiene program must complete with a grade “C” or better in the following courses:
  BIO 261 - Human Anatomy
  BIO 262-Human Physiology
• Achievement of a minimum overall GPA of 2.95 on a 4-point scale based on the completion of courses at the college most recently attended or Columbus State Community College. Applicants without a minimum GPA of 2.95 will not be considered. A minimum 2.75 GPA must be maintained throughout the length of the Dental Hygiene program.

2. Students must complete all General Education (G) and Basic-Related (B) courses with a grade of “C” or better. (See Plan of Study).

3. Required Documentation to be submitted to the Columbus State Community College Admissions/Records and Registration Office:

• Final official high school transcript (sent directly by the high school to Columbus State’s Records Office) verifying date of graduation OR General Education Development (GED) test results with a minimum average standard score of 45 and a minimum of 35 in each subject.
• Official transcripts from other college(s) attended (sent directly by the other college(s) to Columbus State’s Records Office).
• Application to Columbus State (if not a current student). Note: Students MUST apply to Columbus State Community College before they can apply to the Dental Hygiene program.
• International Students: See section 4-G

4. Required Documentation to be submitted to the Dental Hygiene Program......Note: We will only accept your application IF it is included as part of your application packet. You must initial the Dental Hygiene Application Packet Checklist indicating that ALL items are included in the packet. If ALL items are not included in the packet, your application will not be considered. Items to be included in the packet (must be returned in Columbus State envelope given to you at the mandatory information session) are:

• Dental Hygiene Program Application: This is distributed ONLY at the mandatory Information sessions. (Yellow form)
• Dental Hygienist Observation Form: This is distributed ONLY at the Information sessions and must be submitted with the official Dental Hygiene Program Application. It is NOT acceptable to observe a dentist rather than a dental hygienist. (Green form)
• Copy of final high school transcript verifying date of graduation OR General Education Development (GED) test results. (NOTE: If you have been out of high school for more than three (3) years, you do not need to provide the Dental Hygiene program with a copy of your high school transcript. You do, however, need to provide Columbus State Records Office with an official high school transcript).
• Copy of transcripts from other college(s) attended. When you contact your other college(s) to request that your official transcript be sent to Columbus State’s Records Office, you must also request that your other college(s) send you a copy of your transcript. You must then provide the Dental Hygiene program with your copy of your transcript.
• COMPASS Placement test results.
• International Students:
  As well as submitting the above information, international students must also submit foreign high school AND college transcripts to one of the following transcript evaluation agencies.
  Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc., http://www.ece.org or
  World Education Services, http://www.wes.org

DEADLINE for submission to transcript evaluation agency: November 30. (Cost of transcript evaluation is the responsibility of the student.) Please ask the agency to send one copy of the completed evaluation directly to Columbus State’s Admissions Office (Madison Hall, 550 E. Spring Street, P.O. Box 1609, Columbus, Ohio, 43216-1609) and one copy to you. You must then provide the Dental Hygiene program with your copy of the completed evaluation.

The transcript evaluation MUST include a “Course-by-Course” evaluation which shows equivalent credit for the following courses and shows course grade and GPA equivalent:

__________ BIO 261 equivalent at Columbus State

__________ BIO 262 equivalent at Columbus State

__________ MATH 104 equivalent at Columbus State OR high school Algebra II (verified by transcript evaluation)

5. Other Application Requirements:

• Attendance at a Dental Hygiene Information Session:
  All applicants are required to attend a mandatory Dental Hygiene Information Session the year of application. Sessions are held during summer, autumn, and winter quarters. The last session of each year is held by February 15.
• Observation of a dental hygienist at work in an office, clinic or other dental hygiene setting within the year of application is required. Twenty hours of observation must be documented on the observation form and must be co-signed by the supervising dentist and the dental hygienist. Complete information regarding documentation will be available at the Mandatory Information session. The observation form is also obtained at an Information session. (If a student is re-applying to the program, the observation must have occurred within 18 months of the application deadline.)
• Students who have attended other colleges must have their official transcripts sent to Records and Registration where the transcripts will be evaluated for transfer credit. This must be completed BEFORE submitting the Dental Hygiene application packet. If you are not currently a Columbus State student, you must submit a Columbus State College application prior to submitting your transcripts for evaluation. In order for transcript evaluation to occur by the application deadline, transcripts must be submitted to the Records and Registration by January 20. All transcripts must be evaluated and transfer credit posted BY THE APPLICATION DEADLINE.

6. Additional Admission Information:

• If you are not a current or previous Columbus State student, you may enroll in Columbus State online at: http://cscc.edu. You may also enroll over the telephone by calling: 287-5353, or (800) 621-6407. You may also visit the Welcome Center in Madison Hall. Please note enrollment in Columbus State is not the same as enrollment in the Dental Hygiene program.
• For information regarding placement testing, contact the COMPASS Lab, Aquinas Hall, Room 002, (614) 287-2478 OR (800) 621-6407, ext. 2478 or visit  http://www.cscc.edu/testingcenter/compass.htm.
• All students who are accepted into the program must attend a mandatory orientation session in the summer and to complete a series of “Health Record” forms and immunizations by July 15. Students who fail to complete health record requirements by July 15 will relinquish their place in the program. Accepted students will receive written information regarding these requirements in their acceptance packets.

7. Statement Regarding Infectious Diseases:

Students in any of the Allied Health programs, including Dental Hygiene, perform their clinical work on real people. Columbus State does not discriminate against students, faculty, or patients in any way, or based on color, creed, national origin, gender, disability or sexual preference. The patient populations with whom we work come from all walks of life, and the students may therefore be exposed to many types of communicable diseases.

These are not limited to but may include: Hepatitis (A, B, C, or D), HIV/AIDS, TB, measles, mumps, rubella, rubeola, etc. All students are required to have appropriate immunizations after they are admitted to the program, but by the summer orientation session. Additionally, although all precautions are taken to minimize exposure and risk, there is always a slight possibility that precautions may fail or that a student may accidentally expose him/herself. All students entering the Dental Hygiene program must be aware of this slight, but real, potential. All students are required to have personal health insurance in effect by the first day of class.

8. Accreditation: Columbus State Community College Dental Hygiene Program was fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation in 2000. The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312)440-4653 or at 211 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 606611-2678. Third party comments considered that are 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. 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 interested in submitting comments, requests can be made to the Commission office for receiving standards and/or the Commission's Evaluation Policies and Procedures (EPP).