Officials at Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) are opposing the creation of a new dental hygiene program at Hagerstown Community College (HCC), according to a story in the Cumberland Times-News.
In a September 1 letter to the Maryland Higher Education Commission, ACM President Cynthia Bambara wrote that a new program at HCC would result in "unreasonable program duplication and demonstrable harm to another institution."
College officials are asking the District 1 legislative delegation to oppose the proposal, and the American Dental Hygienists' Association has launched a letter-writing campaign.
HCC received a $50,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission in 2008 to help fund new dental courses and establish a dental hygiene associate degree program, according to the Times-News.
Graduates of ACM's dental hygiene program reportedly are having trouble finding full-time work in the area; a survey of the class of 2011 found that 16.6% are working full time, while the rest have only been able to find only part-time positions, the newspaper reported.
According to Maryland's Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, the state will need about 1,115 additional dental hygienists between 2008 and 2018 -- about 101 new hygienists per year.
In addition to ACM, four other Maryland schools offer dental hygiene programs besides ACM: Baltimore City Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, the University of Maryland-Baltimore, and Fortis College. Together the five schools are expected to produce 137 graduates each year over the next seven years, according to ACM.
