Frequently Asked Questions

Questions

Answers

IS THIS PROGRAM ACCREDITED?

Yes. We have been granted initial accreditation as a new program.

What agency accredits the program?
The Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education of the American Dietetic Association

What does it mean to students to attend an “accredited” program?
It is an assurance that the program meets the highest standards for training in the industry. Such accreditation also means that upon completion of this program, the students are eligible to sit for the National Registration Exam to become a registered dietetic technician.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM LINK COURSEWORK TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND WORK TO MEET THEM?

The program stays up to date in several ways. The supervised practice component keeps the faculty in touch with day to day change in practice. In addition, through regular contact with our Dietetic Technician Program Advisory Committee (which includes member from a variety of practice areas in the dietetics field), we are kept abreast of any new standards and policies, so that our students will be prepared to pass the registration exam and enter the profession upon graduation.

IS THERE A SEPARATE APPLICATION FOR THE PROGRAM?

Not at this time.

WHICH PROGRAM, AS DEGREE OR DIETETIC TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATE SHOULD THE STUDENT PURSUE?

If the student does not possess a BA or BS degree, then the choice is easy. They will need to complete the AS degree.

When the student already possesses a BA or BS often there will be frequent confusion over who can pursue the certificate(s) and who needs the AS degree. The Dietetic Technician certificate is the route for those with the correct bachelor’s degree already in hand. It is not just any BA/BS degree in Nutrition and Foods. It must be from a didactic program which would have led to eligibility to enter the internship for a Registered Dietician (RD) program. The program web site has a link to approved programs. http://eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/career_2192_ENU_HTML.htm

Such Bachelors programs will issue a “verification” statement attesting to this. Such a Verification statement is required for those wishing to pursue the Dietetic Technician certificate program. If the student is eligible for this certificate and completes it, they can sit for the registration exam. While the certificate requires only the practicum course work, we suggest to the student that they also take the recommended accompanying lecture courses (see web site at ) since these will increase their chances of success on the registry exam particularly if it has been some time since earning the BS.

If the student has a BA/BS but it is determined not to be as described above, then they will need to complete all of the course work described in the major requirements for the AS. This will probably lead to many course sub-waiver petitions.

NOTE: The Community Nutrition certificate does not qualify one to sit for the registration exam. It is for those who want some depth in their nutritional knowledge but are not seeking to become professionals in this area.

ARE REQUIRED COURSES REGULARLY OFFERED DAYS, EVENINGS, WEEKENDS, SUMMER, FALL and SPRING?

Each dietetic technician course is offered online either each fall or each spring semester. NUTRI 300 is offered every semester, including summer.

WHAT DOES THE PROGRAM COST?

For California resident students who are eligible for a Board of Governors Grant known as the “BOG”, there is no enrollment fee (tuition) at all.

For California students who are not eligible for the BOG, the enrollment fee is only $20 per unit. To see if you are eligible for the BOG, go to the CRC financial Aid website.

Non-California residents will naturally have higher fees, currently $180 per unit.

Are there any costs beyond enrollment fees and books for things such as uniforms, insurance, etc.?
The student will need liability insurance (~$20/academic year), immunizations and there might be a possible cost for background check (if required by the facility). A lab coat may be required by the site. Transportation to the sites will be needed. The program site details other expenses.

WHAT TEACHING FORMATS SUCH AS ONLINE, TELEVISED, LECTURE AND LABORATORY ARE USED TO DELIVER INSTRUCTION?

The Dietetic Technician NUTRITION courses are taught exclusively online. Students “talk” to each other and professors via email and the Blackboard Learning system. The related practicum course work is conducted at a sponsoring site under the supervision of a qualified preceptor. NUTRI 300 is also taught in the traditional classroom as well as televised formats.

WHAT GENERAL SKILL LEVELS (English, math and computer) ARE RECOMMENDED FOR ENTRY-LEVEL COURSEWORK AND TO PROGRESS SATISFACTORILY?

We recommend students have a good grasp of the English language, so that they will be able to complete textbook readings, interpret research articles and write research papers (NUTRI 310, 322, 340). We recommend that students have basic math skills, as they will need to calculate ratios and percentages, perform unit conversions, and costs estimates. Students should be comfortable with computers in order to use email, diet analysis software, word processing software and the Internet. For online classes, students will be required to assess their skill by completing the following quizzes: Technical Skills Quiz and Student Skills Quiz at http://www.cvc4.org/student_prepare/survey2confirmation.asp

Students with a total score of 75 or less should be advised to enroll in HCD 320, Skills for Online Student Success in order to successfully navigate the online Dietetics program.

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF ANY REQUIRED PRACTICUM OR FIELD EXPERIENCE IN THIS PROGRAM?

How many hours and during what part of the day is this?
Practicum courses are required. A minimum of 450 hours of supervised practice are required in this program (and to sit for the exam). The supervised practice provides hands-on experience in medical nutrition therapy (clinical), community nutrition program (e.g., WIC, Headstart, senior feeding, etc.), and food service. The program prepares the students with the knowledge and skills to be job ready.

Three hours of practicum time are required per each 1 unit of practicum course. The hours and days are arranged and set up by the student and the preceptor at the site.

Obtaining a sponsoring site for practicum and fieldwork
Since the major and certificate are distance education programs and our students are scattered all over the country, DT faculty is not in a position to arrange sites for the fieldwork. This will be the student’s responsibility. Faculty will facilitate the Agency Agreement with the site (the agreement comes from the Los Rios District Office). The DT Program web site has exhaustive guidelines on this topic so refer to that source. It may take some time for a student to arrange a site and preceptor so students should begin to work on it a month or two before the semester begins since there is a lot to be done and they do not want to get out of sequence by not being prepared.

Is there a cost associated with the field experience?
There will be costs for transportation, liability insurance, immunization, background check (if required by site), and possibly a lab coat or professional clothing. The program web site details these costs.

WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO BE A STUDENT IN THIS PROGRAM?

What is the classroom culture like?
Online students are more open and willing to share their experience and knowledge with others. Many of these students have worked for years in related fields and some even have advanced degrees already

How much of the instruction is “hands-on” or workplace simulation?
Practicum courses are 100% hands-on at an actual job site.

What is the nature of the relationships between students and between the students and professor?
There is a great deal of open communication. With e-mail, they can (and do) reach the professors and counselor around the clock.

What do students have to say about this program?
They are positive about the experience on the whole. The following comments are offered by Elif Yildrim, a 2007 graduate and Haley Lucas currently in her last year.

Regarding on the course content:
“Overall, I didn’t find the course content very difficult, but it wasn’t easy either. Particularly, I found Advanced Nutrition Class very difficult. It would have been easier if I had taken science classes previously.” (Elif)

Regarding the online format:
“I particularly liked the discussion board on Blackboard (the online system), sharing information with other student(s) is very helpful…assignments were really appropriate”. (Elif)
“You must be very bold and self-directed because everything is on you. I already had a BA in education.” (Haley)

Regarding the practicum experience:
“It was very difficult for me to find a place for practicum experience. I(t) would be better if school helped me more finding a place. Realities of working in this field was little bit harsh in the beginning especially in the clinical experience. Working with real patients is very different than text book case studies. Now on my 10th week of clinical experience, I got used to talking with patients and finding solutions to their nutritional problems.” (Elif)
“The preceptors (on practicum sites) are overwhelmed with work so you have to get help when you can.” (Haley)

Regarding the responsiveness of the program to student issues:
“Absolutely. All of the teachers are/were very helpful in this course.” (Elif)

WHAT ARE COMMON ADVISING ISSUES IN THIS PROGRAM THAT COUNSELORS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

Course sequence.
First of all, many of our students already have extensive college work so much of their GE may be completed. But, for the brand new college student, it would be important to advise them to front-load their program with the important math and English courses. The math will allow them to take the chemistry. The danger of front-loading all of the nutrition classes is that they then may have three semesters or so of GE before they can sit for the exam and they will not likely do very well on it by then.

The program faculty has prepared a grid of prerequisites and advisories that will help guide course sequence since we know that very few students will be able to do this program full-time. These are attached in the counselor version of this guide.

NUTRI 497
The current catalog (this will change in 09) requires three units of NUTRI 497, Internship in Nutrition and Foods. Because it is a variable unit class (1 to 3 units), this requirement has caused considerable confusion. Here is how it is supposed to work. Students should sign up for two units of NUTRI 497 when they take NUTRI 361 and one unit when they take NUTRI 380.

Program course changes.
The 2009 catalog will reflect changes in the curriculum to clean up problems like the one above and to help strengthen readiness for the rigorous registry exam. The attached document by Professors Wassmer and Hagenburger detail these changes.

Course substitution/waiver issues.
The program faculty is very cooperative regarding such waiver/subs. The biggest issue will be one of currency of knowledge. It is common to find a student with an equivalent course from, say, CSU-SLO but it was taken five to ten years ago. This is a dynamic field and success on the exam demands currency of knowledge. Suggest that they attach a resume showing recent work experience. Dana will often suggest that a “challenge by examination” might work. The accrediting agency grades the DTR program partly by the number of students who pass the exam on the first try so this is an important issue.

Pair NUTRI lecture with related fieldwork.
Each NUTRI class is only offered once per year so obviously sequencing is an issue. The student should take the practicum course alongside the related lecture course. An example is NUTRI 350, Community Nutrition, needs to be paired with NUTRI 351, Community Nutrition Practicum.

This Program does not prepare for Registered Dietician education.
Students sometimes think that this is the “first step” towards becoming an RD but that is not the case. The science and math load is considerable heavier and the sequences in chemistry and biology different. Even though several of our courses “sound like” courses required in the CSUS and other RD programs, they will not be used there since theirs are upper-division courses with heavier science prerequisites.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL CERTIFICATIONS OR LICENSING EXAMS THAT GRADUATES MUST OR CAN TAKE?

Graduates must take the National Registration Exam to become a registered dietetic technician.

Are there costs associated with these?
There is a registration exam fee

Are there any physical or legal limitations (immigration status, felony or misdemeanor convictions, etc.) to licensing?
No

How well do CRC graduates do on these exams?
So far, we have a 92% total pass rate. And a 66% first time pass rate. Efforts are being made currently to strengthen the exam preparation in the last semester of course-work.

ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS IN THIS PROGRAM?

Yes, California Dietetic Association scholarships and American Dietetic Association scholarships.