The purpose of this report is to serve as a guide for dental hygiene education program development, and to serve as a stimulus for improving established programs. The first section of the report discusses the function of the Council on Dental Education and the trends in hygiene program development. In section II the requirements for an accredited program in dental hygiene education are reproduced. All dental hygiene programs must meet those standards. The section "Guidelines for Interpretation of Requirements for an Accredited Program in Dental Hygiene Education" includes information for planning a program that will meet minimum accreditation standards, as well as recommendations for developing a program that exceeds minimum standards. The last section describes the Council's accreditation responsibility and defines accreditation terminology and classification. (AF)