The competency assessment and remediation sequence used to ensure student readiness to progress through the curriculum at the University of North Carolina's Dental Auxiliary Teacher Education program is described. The frequency of need for remediation was analyzed. (Author/MLW)

Inherent in the meaning of baccalaureate dental hygiene education is the offering of upper-division courses in the theory and practice of dental hygiene itself. Restructuring the associate programs as strictly two-year, lower-division programs would require standardization of baccalaureate programs as strictly upper-division curricula. (MLW)

Administrative decisions about the future of dental hygiene programs are often based on inadequate information about employment trends and about the importance of the dental hygienist in dental practices. Studies indicate that demand for dental hygiene services will remain high in the 1980s. (Author/MLW)

The establishment of the baccalaureate degree as the minimum entry level for dental hygiene practice centers around three main concerns: changes in health care delivery, awarding of a degree commensurate with students' educational background, and the credibility of dental hygiene as a profession. A curriculum model is discussed. (MLW)