The Supreme Chapter has received multiple requests for guidance when selecting new members under pass-fail grading systems. Article III, Section 3, was redrafted in 2024 to allow greater flexibility when selecting new members. Schools MUST rank their students in some form to create the 20% applicant pool.
This section will offer suggested models by which Chapters can draw guidance for addressing their own selection needs.
Option #1 (the Upsilon Upsilon method):
A call for nominations for alumni membership is sent to all full time faculty. For each nominee, a letter/statement of support from the nominating faculty to the chair of the selection committee along with the student’s CV. Student preceptors were reached out to individually for recommendations and feedback.
>20% of the class were nominated for OKU alumni membership. The selection committee met and considered the students in the areas of “Advocate, Clinician, and Thinker.” Faculty feedback, strength of the CV, and any commendations or concerns from academic/student affairs in those areas were discussed.
A slate was prepared by the selection committee with three groups: highly recommended students, recommended students, and students recommended with reservation.
A ballot was created and disseminated at our general membership meeting. Active members voted, and selection was based on the majority of votes. The recipients that received votes were selected, encompassing the top 12% of the class.
Option #2 (the Phi Chi method):
The performance of dental students in each academic unit is assessed and grades may be assigned as Pass (P) or Fail (F); no honors or any other designations are permissible per the institution’s academic policies. Final grades will be recorded on official transcripts as Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U), where a grade of Satisfactory (S) is equivalent to a Pass (P) and a grade of Unsatisfactory (U) is equivalent to a Fail (F).
As a result of the pass/fail grading system, no class rank or GPA is maintained.
During each academic year, student performance and progress towards achieving the knowledge, skills, judgment and attitudes as well as the School’s defined competencies is reviewed and assessed by an Academic Performance Committee. The fundamental purpose of evaluating academic performance is to certify competency in the necessary cognitive, behavioral and clinical skills required of a broadly competent, early general practitioner of dental medicine.
On a bimonthly basis, the respective Academic Performance Committee is responsible for assessing each student’s progress towards requisite milestones, course completions, experiential activities and defined competencies, as well as the fulfillment of expectations of professionalism and behavioral characteristics consistent with that of a practitioner of dental medicine. During each assessment period, students are assigned one of the following statuses based upon data from each curricular element:
- Exceptional/superior progress [score of “1”]
- Acceptable progress [score of “2”]
- Minor deficiencies in progress [score of “3”]
- Serious deficiencies in progress [score of “4”]
The metrics/rubrics for the assignment of the above statuses are defined at the beginning of each assessment cycle and are communicated to the respective students.
The respective Academic Performance Committee is charged with providing students with information about their progress towards competency in all domains, along with any expectations for improvement where deficiencies have been noted. In general, students are not promoted to a subsequent year with any noted deficiencies. Based upon the academic calendars, there will be a minimum of five APC assessments in Years 1, 2 and 3, and six APC assessments in Year 4.
For the purpose of identification of students for eligibility for election into OKU as well as the identification of students for other recognition(s) based upon superior academic performance, the Office of Dental Academic Affairs will stratify a student cohort based upon the frequency of bimonthly deficiencies. The resultant data set will reflect overall student performance in all aspects of the DMD program to date. The group of students with the greatest number of APC assessments of “exceptional/superior progress” and/or the fewest number of APC assessments of “deficiencies (minor or serious)” will, as a result of the cumulative scoring, have the lowest cumulative score and this will be considered to be reflective of superior achievement.
On an annual basis and for the express purpose and use, the Office of Dental Academic Affairs will provide the secretary-treasurer of the Phi Chi Chapter a list containing the names of the 20% of the graduating class who have the lowest cumulative score, reflective of superior achievement. This is deemed to be comparable or equivalent to those students who rank “highest in scholarship.”
The stratification of any cohort of students as described above is not permitted for any other purpose and will not be recorded on an official transcript.