The Milwaukee-based Marquette University School of Dentistry received a $1.37 million grant to establish the Open Dental Education Consortium.
The consortium is designed to standard dental education as well as decrease the cost of tuition, according to a Jan. 6 news release from the university.
Marquette University will form the consortium with Eau Claire, Wis.-based Chippewa Valley Technical College, Milwaukee Area Technical College in Wisconsin and Provo, Utah-based Brigham Young University.
The target population of the consortium will be students in all dental programs, including students of predoctoral DDS and DMD, dental hygiene and dental assisting programs.
The ODEC aims to have each member institution convert 25% of its curriculum to an open educational model within three years, saving more than 500 students a minimum of $1,000 each.
The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, the release said.