(Re) Accreditation Process
The EFP has formulated guidelines and common quality standards aiming to provide convergence in postgraduate training programmes in periodontology.
Step 1: Meeting the EFP quality standards
Before any application to be reviewed by the EFP, the graduate program in periodontology seeking EFP recognition must comply with a series of quality standards.
The standards are defined in general terms, followed by more specific, concrete requirements and learning outcomes. The standards are minimum requirements that the university programme should have and are grouped into four main categories:
- Qualifications of the director of the postgraduate periodontology training programme (the trainer).
- Qualifications of the postgraduate training programme.
- Qualifications of the periodontology training facility.
- Qualifications of the periodontal service.
Step 2: Accreditation file approval
When the post graduate in periodontology seeking for the EFP recognition meets the quality standards they should build up a application file including a series of documents for the evaluation process:
- Survey questionnaire (pdf)
- Full CV’s of the professional staff
- Detailed copy of the time table of the training program offered to 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students: lectures, clinical conferences/report meetings, seminars including aims and objectives, reading list, patient treatment, clinical conferences, the names of the teachers responsible for each item, examinations (written/oral per subject, per year), weekly/semestrial schedule etc.
- Copy of scientific publications/presentations/congress given/attended by any person involved in the program management
- Copies of available protocols related to hygienic circumstance
- Copies of any available written policies and procedures
- Copies of any available dental protocols
- A detailed report of the research activity of the Department
- Copies of accreditation sandards of any accredited periodontal clinic where students are being offered an internship
- A detailed periodontal traning program including the course program organization (research, clinical and didactic learning).
- A case presentation of at least one postgraduate student
The director of the applying programme sends the completed questionnaire together with all the additional information to the Chairman of the board of the EFP-PEC for review. The EFP-PEC board will then determine whether the provided application files meets the requirements and deserves a site visit.
All information about the EFP accreditation is detailed in the Working document for accreditation.
Step 3: Site visit
Once the EFP-PEC committee approves the application file, a 2 days on-site visit of the postgraduate training centre is organised in order to validate the application file. The site visiting committee consists of 3 members and the composition is as follows:
- Chairman: one of the EFP-PEC board members not coming from the country of the applying school
- An EFP-PEC society representative member of the country from which the application is coming (internal EFP-PEC society representative).
- An EFP-PEC society representative member not coming from the country of the applying school (external EFP-PEC society representative) or one of the EFP-PEC board members.
The director of the applying program is responsible to coordinate with the visit. The evaluation process includes:
- Inspection of all the facilities
- Interviews with professors, graduate students, former students and teachers.
- Attending patient treatment by graduate students (initial treatment as well as surgery)
- Attendance of lecture, seminars, case and research presentation
- Detailed discussions on the provided file
All information about the site visit is detailed in the Working document for accreditation
Step 4: PEC approval
On the basis of their evaluation, the applying director will receive a detailed report for EFP-PEC committee with the final decision regarding the accreditation of the graduate program by the EFP.
The approval by the EFP for accreditation of a graduate program is valid for a
period of 8 years, provided that the director of the program stays in post.
All information about the approval process is detailed in the Working document for accreditation.
How to get your programme re-accredited by EFP
Once a programme is found to fulfil the requirements established by the European Federation of Periodontology, the accreditation is granted for a period of eight years, provided the Programme Director remains in post. In case of changes in the directorship, a re-accreditation process will need to be performed and the new director must provide to the EFP-PEC a completed copy of The Survey Questionnaire for Replacement of Director.
When the accreditation period has expired, a re-accreditation must be completed. The document Graduate Programs in Periodontology, Survey Questionnaire for re-accreditation must be filled in and send to the chairman of the EFP-PEC. In case of a positive decision, two years after re-accreditation a member of the EFP-PEC board must be appointed as external EFP examiner for the exams of the programme in question in order not only to evaluate the exams but also the graduate programme itself. This evaluation includes:
- Detailed discussions on the completed questionnaire with the director of the programme
- Inspection of the facilities
- Interviewing of 1st and 2nd year graduate students as well as the 3rd year graduate students that participated in the final examination,
- Interviewing of the teachers
All information about the process is detailed in the Working document for accreditation.