A case study of a nontraditional basic science curriculum

This article presents a critical analysis of the ten-year experience of the Department of Oral Biology of the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry with a nontraditional basic science curriculum. The factors that led to the adoption of this curriculum are outlined, and its effects on students, faculty, and the college's administration are described. The pitfalls inherent in this approach and in the individualized self-instructional format for teaching the basic sciences to dental students are discussed. This critical evaluation is aimed at providing information for those contemplating similar sweeping curricular changes in the future to enable them to make rational decisions and to help them predict the effects of such changes on the educational program.