Success Stories
Dental hygiene instructor earns Quality Matters recognition
Story by Joan Aschim
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| Dental hygiene instructor Tammy Maahs has just met the mark with her online course, DH 234 Trends and Issues. |
Just how good is online instruction?
That’s what faculty at Lane Community College are determining through the Quality Matters process, and dental hygiene instructor Tammy Maahs has just met the mark with her online course, DH 234 Trends and Issues.
“Your course has been recognized as having met Quality Matters review standards,” wrote Kay Kane of the Quality Matters program. “Only about 50 percent of the courses reviewed have been recognized."
Quality Matters is a faculty peer review process to assure continuous improvement in online education. The process was developed by a consortium of Maryland colleges with an initial grant from the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The project now offers services to other institutions. Lane’s participation is funded by a grant from the Oregon Community College and Workforce Development Department.
Trends and Issues is the first course at Lane to meet Quality Matters standards.
Trends and Issues is open to graduating students. Content covers the rules and regulations of the state dental practice act. The course prepares students for the Oregon Board of Dentistry jurisprudence examination, which is required for Oregon licensure. Students also receive assistance in how to find employment.
Maahs began teaching Trends and Issues online in 2002. She put the course through QM review this spring. She is now serving as a peer reviewer for another online course.
Maahs teaches half time and works half time in the Springfield practice of Douglas N. Dow, DMD. Teaching and working is ideal for her. She says her field experience benefits students in the classroom. “Lane is a perfect fit. I love it. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”
Maahs earned an associate of applied science in dental assisting from the Oregon Institute of Technology in 1982. After working for a few years, she enrolled at Lane and earned an AAS in dental hygiene. She returned to OIT and earned a bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene in 2001. She is a Registered Dental Hygienist.
Lane is expanding its dental hygiene training using distance learning and a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Distance learning partners are Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, and Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. Lane currently enrolls 20 students. Enrollment will increase to 26 this fall when online courses debut at Linn-Benton. By fall 2009, Lane will be admit up to 38 students.
The program is accredited by the American Dental Association. Lane is preparing for a reaccredidation site visit this fall at Linn-Benton, and for a main campus visit in fall 2008.
Lane’s dental hygiene students consistently achieve a 98 percent or better pass rate on licensure exams. Nearly all find employment. Dental hygiene is one of the fastest growing occupations in Oregon which estimates a need for 971 more hygienists by 2014. Lane County will need 56 more hygienists. Entry-level salaries range between $18,000 and $40,000.
Students can earn a two-year associate degree in dental hygiene at Lane. For more information, visit 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/fhc/dental/dh.htm
