Academic Standing and Evaluation
DISCIPLINARY / TERMINATION PROCEDURE
Dietetic students are regularly informed regarding their progress within the Distance Education Dietetic Supervised Practice Program. The Program Director and NUTRI faculty reviews the academic and supervised practice progress of all students at the end of each course or rotation. If a student fails to meet the criteria for satisfactory performance in the supervised practice, the student may be placed on probation at the discretion of the Program Director.
Before the student is placed on probation a verbal and then a written warning will be issued. Justification for a warning can include but not exclusive to an observed undesirable performance including an uncooperative, unprofessional and / or unethical behavior. Instances of this may be insolence, habitual tardiness, refusal to cooperate, leaving the facility before the assigned time, disregard for the attendance policies of the program or academic or supervised practice deficiencies.
The purpose of this procedure is to record a fair and consistent procedure for termination of dietetic students from the supervised practice. Students can grieve (in writing) at any point in the disciplinary procedure.
Step 1: A verbal or electronic warning will be given to the student.
At this time the program director will provide verbal or electronic counseling informing the student of the conduct or performance problem. A performance problem consists of any evidence of undesirable performance, one unacceptable rating or verbal report by a preceptor. (The unacceptable rating is to be noted by the preceptor on the Performance Evaluation form.) The telephone counseling will be conducted from the program directors private office or electronically through personal e-mails. The student will be given the opportunity to give his / her side of the situation. Specific expectations of improved performance or conduct will be outlined for the student. This communication will be documented and kept in the student’s file.
Step 2: If the behavior continues, a written warning will be given to the student.
The program director will give a written warning (may be electronic) to the student after formal counseling. Specific performance or conduct problem(s) and proposed corrective action will be documented in a letter and reviewed with the student. The student will be given the letter and a file copy will be kept in the student's official folder.
Step 3: A dietetic student may be placed on probation when there is evidence that s/he has difficulty in complying with the corrective action as defined in Step 2. The program director will notify the student on the telephone of his / her probationary status. A letter stating the reason for probation and required behavior, performance requirements and time frames for reevaluation will be specified. The student may be placed on probation for a period of up to four weeks. If after this period there is no resolution it may be necessary to change the preceptor and site. Only one probationary period will be permitted during the supervised practice.
Step 4: If after all the above steps are followed and the student again receives an unacceptable rating or verbal report by a preceptor the student will be dismissed from the program. The student may also be dismissed when s/he is unable to satisfactorily complete the program practicum requirements in a one-year period. The student will receive a written notice of termination.
DISTANCE EDUCATION DIETETIC SUPERVISED PRACTICE EVALUATION SYSTEM
Ongoing evaluations of performance in the facility are done by the students themselves and facility preceptor(s).
- Evaluation discussions online are held periodically (Faculty, Site Preceptor, and student) to ensure that a student is achieving the core competencies in a timely manner.
- Students are regularly informed regarding their progress in the program by having the preceptor complete a performance appraisal form mid semester and review it with the student. Students are also asked to evaluate themselves at mid (and final) semester. Students are given formal/final evaluation at the end of each semester.
- Informal feedback on student progress is given throughout the entire program by the preceptors. The preceptor maintains an open line of communication on at least a biweekly basis to address current or potential problems and/or progress.
- The student who is unable to demonstrate competent performance past the completion date for supervised practice is expected to schedule hours in addition to the standard work week for the purpose of performing/repeating the task to demonstrate competence (upon approval by the site preceptor). The student is expected to schedule these hours at a time determined by the preceptor or designated evaluator. If the student does not choose or is unable to schedule additional hours and if the student falls progressively behind in the practicum calendar, it may be necessary for the student to withdraw from the course and repeat it the following year.
ACADEMIC STANDING
The program director and faculty reviews the academic and supervised practice progress of all dietetic technician students at the end of each semester. The NUTRI faculty also reviews the student’s grade for all the program required courses. If any final grade is below a C and/or if a student is rated as less than competent in any one of the required competencies in supervised practice, the student will be dismissed from the program or asked to repeat the course. If, at any time during the professional course, a student's performance is deemed undesirable, a warning will be issued by the program director and the student will be placed on probation until the end of the course. Uncooperative, irresponsible, unprofessional, or unethical behavior, as determined by the faculty or preceptor, may result in probation or dismissal from the program.