Curriculum Analysis Tools (CATs): a cooperative approach to the design of curriculum databases

In 1990, a small group of dental schools agreed to pool their resources and cooperate in the design and programming of curriculum analysis software. After two and one half years, the consortium which was formed has grown to include over 50 institutions. Its efforts have been endorsed by the American Association of Dental Schools and it is now beta testing its first software product, known as CATs, which is an acronym for Curriculum Analysis Tools. The process by which the software has been developed, as well as its current design, offers a unique blend of flexibility and creativity which could perhaps be adopted by other health professions.