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About the ADEA Center for Educational Policy and Research
Founded in 1998 as one of the outcomes of the American Association of Dental Schools Leadership Summit Conference, the ADEA Center for Educational Policy and Research has four major goals:

Conduct educational policy research and studies in areas relevant to the needs of dental education over the next five to ten years;

Stimulate discussion and to recommend policies to ADEA leadership about significant issues affecting the relationships of dental education to higher education and to the oral health of the public;

Underpin the fundamental importance and responsibilities of a dental school within the academic community of a modern university and to emphasize how its unique activities contribute to, as well as benefit from, the parent institution; and

Guide the development of future leaders for dental education and higher education.

Activities
In pursuit of the first three goals, the ADEA Center for Educational Policy and Research conducts studies and publishes a variety of policy reports in such areas as future faculty, the cost of education, applicant trends, and access to oral health care. Two of the most requested Center reports are Trends in Dental Education and Best Practices in Dental Education. The ADEA Center for Educational Policy and Research frequently works with commissions and task forces to conduct policy studies in such areas as the place of the academic dental institution in the parent university, access to oral health care, the role of research in academic dental institutions, and allied dental education matters. The Center strives to involve a wide range of stakeholders in dental education, including senior university administrators, the private practice community, and industry.

Surveys
Through the Center for Educational Policy and Research, ADEA conducts a variety of surveys. These surveys provide valuable data for members as they strategically plan to meet dental education needs at their home institutions and nationally.

Applicant Analysis
The annual Applicant Analysis provides a compilation of data on selected characteristics of the applicants to and the first-time enrollees of entering dental school classes. In addition to the number of applicants and first-time enrollees, there is aggregate and individual school-based information about their gender, race/ethnicity, and geographic distribution by state, Canada, and other foreign countries. Other items in the analysis are the number of predental school years of college and the average GPA and DAT scores of applicants and enrollees, by school. Major areas of predental college study are also presented.

Survey of Dental Educators
The Center for Educational Policy and Research maintains a dental school faculty database, which is updated annually through its Survey of Dental Educators. The database presents faculty by school, primary appointment, discipline, academic rank, full-time or part-time status, and tenure. The database also includes information regarding gender, race and ethnicity, and date of birth. Information is maintained as to sources of new faculty members and reasons for faculty separations.

Faculty Salary Survey
The annual Faculty Salary Survey presents the guaranteed annual salary of full-time faculty in aggregate of all schools by administrative title, primary appointment, and academic rank. The salaries are displayed at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. For greater comparability, the salaries are also displayed by type of school and by region. The collection of information regarding total faculty compensation was begun in 2000.

Vacant Budgeted Faculty Positions
The Center for Educational Policy and Research now has responsibility for conducting the annual survey of Vacant Budgeted Faculty Positions, formerly conducted by the American Dental Association’s survey center. The survey tracks vacant positions by school, primary appointment, primary discipline, full-time/part-time status, active/inactive search, and length of time the position has been vacant. Information regarding factors that influence an ability to fill the position is also obtained in the survey.

Survey of Dental School Seniors
An exit Survey of Dental School Seniors is conducted annually to obtain information regarding the financing of dental education, graduating indebtedness, practice and postdoctoral education plans following graduation, decision factors that influenced postgraduation plans, and impressions on the adequacy of time that was directed to various areas of predoctoral instruction. The survey instrument is prepared by the Center for Educational Policy and Research. Each school conducts the survey, which is returned to the center for analysis and reporting. Findings are reported in aggregate of all schools, with each school also receiving a report of its own survey findings.

Survey of Clinic Fees and Revenue
The Survey of Clinic Fees and Revenue obtains data by which to report, by school code, clinic revenue information. The findings supplement the clinic revenue information reported by the American Dental Association. The survey delineates clinic charges and revenue collected by student year of education and by type of program (pre- and postdoctoral), from which per-student revenue can be determined by school year, type of program, and type of school. Obtaining clinic clock hours per year of training allows further breakout of clinic revenue to revenue per student per hour. The survey also identifies fees for selected procedures, as well as an estimated relative value of dental school services as a percent of the usual and customary rate for services of the private practice community. In addition, the survey provides information regarding the percent sources of payment for care (self-pay, private insurance, and federal and state funds). This survey is conducted biennially.

Survey on Student Financial Assistance
The Survey on Student Financial Assistance obtains data regarding the percent of dental students receiving financial assistance from the various federal, state, school, and private loan sources, as well as the average amount of funds obtained per student from each source. The findings are reported by type of school as well as in aggregate of all schools. Similar data are obtained regarding the receipt of scholarships and grants. This survey is conducted biennially.

Trends in Dentistry and Dental Education
Biennially, the Center for Educational Policy and Research prepares a report of Trends in Dentistry and Dental Education. The publication is a compilation of survey findings and reports that describe trends among patients, practitioners, and dental education. Patient trends include population demographics, demands for care, oral health status, payment plans and participation, and dental service expenditures. Dental practitioner trends include number of dentists and demographic characteristics, types of practice and ownership/employment characteristics, employment of allied dental personnel, and average net income of private practitioners. The trends in dental education include the number and types of dental schools; number of applicants, enrollees, and graduates; student demographics (gender and race and ethnicity); price and costs of dental education; graduation debt; practice plans and plans for advanced education; and number and characteristics of dental school faculty.

The ADEA/William J. Gies Education Fellowship
Each year, the Center for Educational Policy and Research offers the opportunity for a dental educator to work within the center on educational policy issues. The ADEA/William J. Gies Education Fellowship enables a dental educator to spend up to three months in residence at ADEA to focus on a broad range of educational policy issues facing dentistry. Candidates must be full-time dental educators at ADEA member institutions.

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