Communicating change

Over the past couple of years, Tom Boran, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, has been doing a lot of thinking and talking about the future. He’s interested in helping his faculty and staff craft a dentistry education that is not only among the best in Canada, but is sustainable and renewable, able to maintain that excellence for years to come.

Standing in the way of that goal: the state of their existing facilities.

“One of our pillars of our capital campaign is clinic renewal and refurbishment, and that’s a big-ticket item,” he explains. “We have 240 cubicles [in our building] that are 30 years old, but there’s also all the equipment and supplies that support them. And that’s not part of our campaign – those are items we use on a day-to-day basis and have a shelf life.”

Maintaining standards

He’s referring to things like hand pieces (the drills, if you will), preclinical equipment and oral x-ray heads, in addition to disposable items such as trays, gloves and masks. These are funded through an academic fee, separate from tuition, that each dentistry student pays annually. One-hundred per cent of this fee goes directly to the Faculty and is used for student-related supplies and services, but it hasn’t been increased in years. So when the Faculty completed an inventory of supplies, they realized something had to change if they wanted to not only improve their facilities but maintain their standard in the future.

That’s why the Dalhousie’s Board of Governors voted in favor of a significant increase to the academic fee that will be phased in over the next three years, designed in a graduated fashion so that students get what they pay for. Those starting their fourth year this fall have the smallest increase – from $6,543 to $9,138 – because it will be supporting initiatives that can be implemented immediately, such as the rental of new hand pieces (the biggest ticket item). In contrast, students just beginning their studies will see the largest increase – their fee rising from $10,700 to $15,506 – but will also reap the maximum benefits.

(A similar increase, phased over two years, has been approved for the dental hygiene program. For the complete fee breakdown, visit the Financial Services website: http://as01.ucis.dal.ca/staccts/2010-2011/MD.pdf)

“If you’re going to raise their fee that much, you have to offer something tangible,” says Dean Boran. “They need to be able to see the money having a direct and immediate impact on their education.”

'Very professional'

The increase comes after months of consultation with students. Dr. Boran confesses that in the past the Faculty has done a poor job communicating to students what exactly the fee was used for and saw this as an opportunity to change that. After meeting with each of the class presidents and preparing a fact sheet for students, he held an open forum to a packed house in May to discuss the proposed changes. Students overwhelmingly preferred the graduated plan to a flat, single-year increase.

“They asked very, very good questions. Very professional; the students did an excellent job making sure they understood what was being asked of them. And then we went through and explained each item line by line.”

Dr. Boran hopes to make this detailed academic fee explanation an annual part of orientation week for dentistry students, allowing the Faculty to get ongoing feedback from students as to how the fees can be best utilized. He also says that the increase, though significant, keeps the dentistry school affordable for students, especially compared to competing programs at other Canadian universities.

In the end, the hope is for the fee increase to reflect a commitment to sustainable dentistry education at Dal.

“Ultimately, we should never be in this situation again, and I think that’s the ultimate goal. That’s the important piece, and it really resonates with both students and alumni.”

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