Nutrition degree clears another hurdle

CHADRON – The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) Board reviewed and approved Chadron State College and Wayne State College’s eligibility application to begin the proposed combined nutrition degree program in March.

The program also received Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education (CCPE) approval this spring.

The partnership program will be the only Future Education Model (FEM) FB program in Nebraska to offer a bachelor’s degree for students when it launches in 2022. Graduates of the program will be eligible to take FEM exam or go on to a master’s degree program in pursuit of becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD).

Assistant Professor Erin Norman, the program director for both CSC and WSC, will attend a July 9 online ACEND training to learn how to develop the courses and accompanying syllabi in order to satisfy the new competency-based education model. Norman will also attend ACEND’s Future Education Model Program Director Virtual Workshop in August that provides in-depth information about writing a self-study report based on the Future Education Model Standards and competency based education.

“We want to meet all the core competencies so our students will be qualified to sit for the NDTR exam, and feel competent on the job after graduation. Having knowledge and knowing how to apply it are two different things. When you are helping someone connect the dots between their health and their nutrition, you have to be a detective, psychologist and sometimes wears many other hats in order to encourage change of a person’s dietary behaviors,” Norman said. “We have a lot of details to work out.”

CSC’s program will focus on food service, community health and positions such as an independent nutritionist with some inclusion of medical nutrition therapy, according to Norman.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center will offer one class in the program. Norman anticipates that CSC and WSC will each hire one additional faculty member to teach the courses. ACEND officials will visit CSC in 2021, prior to the launch of the program.