The following college-level policies are subject to University Council Regulations. In the absence of information, or in the case of discrepancies between university and college regulations, university regulations will prevail. Please note that students will graduate according to the regulations effective for the year in which they are approved to graduate. In all other cases, the most current rules will apply, unless otherwise stated.

Please make note of the following academic policies that apply to the D.M.D., B.Sc.(Dent.), and B.Sc.(DT) programs offered by the College of Dentistry:

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

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 College of Dentistry grading system followed differs from the university-wide grading system, in that the literal descriptors have been expanded to include some terminology which reflects competency in cognitive and/or psychomotor and/or attitudinal skills. 

1. The College of Dentistry considers 60% to be the official passing grade. Some courses require a final pass grade of 65% or 70%, as identified in course syllabi. In the event that the course is failed, but the computed final grade results in a passing mark (between 50% and the passing grade), an N (no credit) grade will be added to the computed percentile grade. Students must successfully repeat the course in order to progress through the program.
2. When deemed appropriate by the Curriculum Committee, Course Coordinators may receive approval for a pass/fail evaluation system in their courses. A failing grade in such a course will be assigned the earned calculated percentage grade. 
3. There are also some courses that are P/F. A “P” grade will not be included in the overall average calculation but an “F” will be assigned the earned calculated percentage grade. 

The following promotion and graduation regulations apply within the College of Dentistry. 

These guidelines apply to students in all years of the dental program and supersede rules that may have been in place in any preceding year of a currently registered student.

1. Should a student fail a supplemental or remedial examination, the original of the two failing grades shall be used to calculate the overall average in the current academic year.
2. Upon successful completion of a supplemental or remedial examination the student will be assigned the minimum pass percentage grade for that class.
3. 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.
4. A student achieving less than 50% in a course is not allowed a supplemental or remedial examination.
5. Failure of a single course may result in failure of an entire year if a supplemental or remedial examination is not practical, possible, or warranted.
6. At the discretion of the Progress & Promotions Committee, a student who has failed in not more than two courses, received a grade of at least 50% in the course(s) failed, and has an overall average of at least 60% or greater in all courses, may be allowed to take supplemental or remedial examinations in the course(s) failed.
7. At the discretion of the Progress & Promotions Committee, a student who has failed a laboratory or clinical course may be allowed to complete a specified remediation program between the regular academic sessions (summer months). If remediation is unsuccessful, the student will fail the year.
8. 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 within 30 days of notification of the failure.
9. A student who has failed a year and has permission to repeat must repeat all courses for that year.
10. Failure of more than one year (including failing the same year twice) automatically requires withdrawal from the program.
11. Under 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.
12. During any year of the program, the circumstances outlined below require the Progress & Promotions Committee to determine if student should be allowed to continue in good standing:
    • Students missing an extraordinary length of time due to illness or personal problems such that it is not possible for them to meet the requirements prior to the next academic year.
    • Students demonstrating persistent documented weakness (< 64% grade) in one or more preclinical or clinical discipline(s) that indicates to faculty that they are not prepared to meet the standards for the next year of the program.
    • A student displaying (documented and reviewed) unprofessional behavior.
    • A student failing enough components of a “program course” or failing enough “half-classes,” that failure of the year is inevitable. 

The Progress & Promotions Committee will determine if students in such circumstances are asked to withdraw or required to withdraw immediately. The Progress & Promotions Committee will then determine if such students can repeat the current academic year. Appeals of evaluation, grading, and academic standing are governed by university-wide council regulations.

13. In the year end evaluation of students, the circumstances outlined below require the Progress & Promotions Committee to determine if a student is to be allowed to proceed in good standing to the next year of the program or to graduate:

• Students missing an extraordinary length of time due to illness or personal problems such that it is not possible for them to meet the requirements prior to the next academic year.
• Students demonstrating persistent documented weakness (< 64% grade) in one or more preclinical or clinical discipline(s) that indicates to faculty that they are not prepared to meet the standards for the next year of the program or have not met the standards for graduation.
• A student displaying (documented and reviewed) unprofessional behavior. 

The Progress & Promotions Committee will determine if students in such circumstances are asked to withdraw, required to withdraw or permitted to repeat the current academic year.

It is expected that students will complete their degree programs within four years of their first registration. Students taking longer to complete their programs will normally be required to meet current degree and graduation requirements. For more information, please contact the college.

A student who is absent from a mid-term examination or competency test for medical or compassionate reasons, or who is ill during a mid-term examination or competency test, may apply for an opportunity to reschedule. To apply, a student must submit satisfactory documentary evidence within three days of the missed examination.

The College recognizes that exceptional circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the student, may force a student to miss an examination during its scheduled time. At the sole discretion of the course director and the Associate Dean, the student may be allowed to take the examination at another time.

Similarly, on occasion, a student may request, in advance, an examination be rescheduled, based on factors other than health. In general, the college discourages this activity and thus requests will only be granted in “exceptional circumstances.” Each case will be decided on its merit and for a request to be granted it must receive the approval of the course director and the Associate Dean.

Supplemental and deferred examination procedures and policies are subject to the university-wide regulations on supplemental and deferred examinations outlined in the Academic Courses Policy. 

Deferred Final Examinations

A student who is absent from a final examination for medical or compassionate reasons, or who is ill during a final examination may apply for a deferred examination. To apply, a student must submit satisfactory documentary evidence within three days of the missed examination.

A student, who by reason of continuing illness or other valid considerations, is unable to write during the regular deferred examination may apply for permission to write a special deferred examination.

The College recognizes that certain circumstances are beyond the reasonable control of the student, and may force a student to miss an examination during its scheduled time. At the sole discretion of the course director and the Associate Dean, the student may be allowed to take the examination at another time.

Similarly, on occasion, a student may request, in advance, an examination be deferred, based on factors other than health. In general, the college discourages this activity and thus requests will only be granted in “exceptional circumstances”. Each case will be decided on its merit and for a request to be granted it must receive the approval of the course director and the Associate Dean.

Supplemental Final Examinations

If a student is granted a supplemental examination, the Dean’s Office will inform the student and the University Registrar’s Office.

Supplemental examinations are taken in August, unless unusual circumstances warrant other considerations.

The University Registrar’s Office will send an application for supplemental examinations to the student.

Once the student has applied, the University Registrar’s Office will request the examinations from the College. In certain circumstances (e.g. examinations in applied components), the College will give the examination rather than the University Registrar’s Office. In this case, the Dean’s Office will inform the student and the Department concerned will conduct the examination.

The following guidelines apply to supplemental examinations for the applied components of the courses:

• a period of instruction must precede any practice and/or examination period.
• the supplemental period should be defined as to expectations, instructions, practice and examination time allocation. It is recommended that the supplemental period be held in August and the length of time necessary be determined on an individual basis.
• This type of supplemental period should not be less than two weeks or more than six weeks in length.
• Department Heads concerned must propose a structured schedule so that faculty and student(s) know what is required of them. This proposal must be submitted to the Curriculum Committee for approval prior to the granting of supplementals.

Supplemental examinations shall be accorded the same weight as the regular examination in the recompilation of the student’s final grade. The final grade that a student obtains as a result of writing a supplemental examination will be reported as a percentage mark. 

The final percentage mark assigned be the minimum pass grade used for the calculation of the student’s average and the class standing. If the supplemental examination is failed the higher of the two failing grades will be recorded on the student’s record.

(Approved by the U.E.C. November 14, 2002)

Mid-Year Examinations

An exception to this regulation is for the third- and fourth-year term examinations, which may be scheduled during the final examination period at the end of the first term.

(Approved by the U.E.C. November 14, 2002)

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 American Dental Association website.

For all important dates please see the Academic Calendar.

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 Curriculum Committee, and upon approval, must be included in the course syllabi.

Students in the Certificate in Dental Assisting (CDA) must pass the necessary prerequisite courses with 50% and attain a weighted average of 65% or better in each term to progress through the program. To qualify for graduation, students must pass all courses with 50%, attain a cumulative weighted average of 65% or better, and complete course requirements within the prescribed timelines.

It is expected that students will complete their certificate within one year of their first registration. Students taking longer to complete their certificate will normally be required to meet current certificate and graduation requirements. For more information, please contact the college.