Michael Walsh
The budget crunch at Washington State University has made recent headlines because of the loss of the theatre and sport management programs. Before those departments knew they were endangered, the dietetics program was near extinction.
Students and faculty in the dietetics program at WSU have been unsure about their future during the past seven months.
“I just wish they would come to a resolution,” said Anthony Jorgenson, a junior dietetics major. “I want to be able to get on with my life and know whether or not I will have a degree in dietetics.”
Currently, WSU’s Pullman campus offers a general dietetics program. The GDP, as it is more commonly known, includes a four-year bachelor’s of science degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition with the dietetics option. Upon graduation, an internship or one-year Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CPD) is required before taking the registered dietitian (RD) exam.
The second component, which can be completed anywhere, is based on regulations by the American Dietetics Association (ADA) and the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE). Graduates are required to gain 900 hours of supervised practice experience. WSU students have the option of continuing with the coordinated program and completing their practice hours in Puyallup, Wash. The other option is to find an internship elsewhere in the country.
There has also been the option for students to complete their degrees in the exercise metabolism program at the Spokane campus after going through two years of prerequisites in Pullman or elsewhere.
Late last year, the ADA and CADE announced graduates would be required to perform 1,200 hours of supervised practice beginning in November 2009. That forced WSU administration to review its options and make tough decisions.
The first announcement that change was imminent came in an October 16 e-mail from Kathryn Meier, director, program in nutrition and exercise metabolism, to students. The letter said the Provost decided to consolidate all dietetics programs to the Spokane campus. Among the reasons, “The long-term plan is for WSU to locate ALL educational programs related to human health in Spokane.”
An information session was held the October 21, to try and clear up any misunderstandings. At the meeting, James Kehrer, dean of the College of Pharmacy, Janet Beary, director of WSU coordinated dietetics programs, and Meier, explained the situation. All students not certified in the Pullman general dietetics program would be required to finish their degrees and professional training in the exercise and metabolism program in Spokane. Students already certified would be able to take the classes necessary to earn their degree by 2010 with courses phasing out in a stepwise fashion.
Kehrer spent much of the forum explaining why the exercise and metabolism program, better known as ExMet, is an advantageous opportunity for students.
The meeting adjourned with Kehrer telling the group no timetable had been reached, but soon the administration would determine who could and could not finish their studies in Pullman. The biggest obstacle was the wide-ranging individual cases.
Miriam Ballejos, associate professor of nutrition and exercise metabolism at WSU, estimates 90 of the 128 dietetics students are not certified. One of them is Jorgenson, and he is one of the many students with unique circumstances Kehrer referred to at the October meeting.
Jorgenson would be certified in the Pullman dietetics program after this semester, but has not taken the right courses to qualify for admission to the ExMet program. To compound the issue, the Spokane program only accepts new students annually, meaning he could not start his mandatory two years until fall of 2010, his fifth year of college. Needless to say, students in similar situations to Jorgenson were up in arms about the proposed solution.
Two days after the meeting, Kehrer and Meier sent an e-mail to dietetics students stating a decision had been made. “General Dietetics courses will continue to be offered on the Pullman campus through May 2012. This will allow for the normal four-year graduation time for currently enrolled students following the program of study published in the University Catalog…Admissions will be closed to new students who cannot graduate by May 2012.”
After four months of near silence, students received another e-mail February 23. This letter came from Vicki Burnham, assistant to the dean, and explained the latest decision in the saga. “An administrative decision has been reached concerning the Pullman CPD program, located in Tacoma/Puyallup. This program will not accept any new applications.”
The letter went on to explain that students who had already been accepted to the program would be able to finish, with the site transitioning to serve the needs of the Spokane-based CPD by the fall of 2010.
Severe backlash from students ensued, and on February 26, Kehrer followed up with a more detailed account as to why the decision was made. The new accreditation standards presented an insurmountable obstacle.
“As we began to work through the self-study tasks required for re-accreditation,” Kehrer wrote, “it became apparent that the current program could not easily be adapted to meet new accreditation standards.”
In order to ensure students reach the new minimum practice hours, new personnel would have to be hired in Puyallup and the cost of the already-expensive program would be increased.
“In the current budget crisis WSU cannot justify continuing two separately accredited CPD programs,” Kehrer went on to write.
The dietetics program in Pullman alone cost WSU more than $1 million during the 2008 fiscal year.
“I understand the financial issues and that nobody is safe right now,” Jorgenson said, “but I wish there could have been better communication.”
At the end of his February 26 letter, Kehrer addressed a major misunderstanding. “When students were informed last October of the impending consolidation of dietetics to Spokane, we promised that all currently enrolled students could complete their dietetics ‘degree’ program in Pullman. This promise specifically referred to the General Dietetics Program that leads to a BS degree. The Tacoma/Puyallup CPD has been an option for Pullman students but was never guaranteed.”
The timing of this announcement created more havoc. Kehrer’s letter came two weeks after the previously announced February 13 “priority deadline” for applying to the ExMet program. It was not until a March 10 letter from Meier to students that it was made clear the Spokane program would be accepting applications until April 1 to accommodate for the transition.
That too has since been changed.
“The application window is still open to accommodate any WSU students that might still be interested in the program,” said Teresa Woolverton, academic coordinator in the College of Pharmacy, in an e-mail Monday.
The latest development, however, could make everything obsolete.
Kehrer, Beary and Meier wrote a letter to CADE board members requesting an exemption from the new accreditation standards for one year. The March 24 letter addressed the same issues Kehrer touched on when he explained the situation to students in February. If approved, the Puyallup CPD would remain open until May 2011, allowing all current juniors and seniors the opportunity to complete their practice hours at WSU and without having to go through the ExMet program.
Ballejos said the board met at the end of April and is expected to send letters in mid-May informing the university of its decision.
“I’m just going to do what I can to graduate,” said a frustrated Jorgenson, unaware of the newest possibility. “If they decide I can do the coordinated program, I will, if not, so be it.”
Ballejos said many of the approximately 90 uncertified dietetics students have demonstrated the same sentiments.
“Most of the students have shown interest in the general program and applying to an outside internship,” Ballejos said.
She said most students who are electing not to follow through with the Spokane option either are not interested in the exercise program, or are not interested in moving to Spokane.
One thing is for certain. Soon any student wanting to graduate from WSU with a degree in dietetics, will not have that option. After the graduating class of 2012, all upper-division work in the program will be completed in Spokane.
Sources
Documents retrieved via Public Records Act
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Anthony Jorgenson
509-939-2607
acj3@wsu.edu
Miriam Ballejos
509-335-1395
medlefsen@wsu.edu
Kathryn Meier
509-335-3573
kmeier@wsu.edu
Teresa Woolverton
509-335-7612
twool@wsu.edu
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
More Gloomy News
A Tuesday story out of the Seattle Times explains that the Olympia School District recently approved a plan that includes allowing layoffs to teachers in order to meet impending budget shortfalls.
OLYMPIA — In preparation of an expected budget shortfall in the millions of dollars, the Olympia School Board approved a reduction in force of up to 37.5 full-time-equivalent employees with teaching certificates at its meeting Monday night.
OLYMPIA — In preparation of an expected budget shortfall in the millions of dollars, the Olympia School Board approved a reduction in force of up to 37.5 full-time-equivalent employees with teaching certificates at its meeting Monday night.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Document Story Proposal
I requested all documents regarding the consolidation of the coordianted dietetics program at Washington State University. As I touched on in my profile story, a number of students and faculty members at WSU are affected by this sudden change. What is the underlying reason for this move? Is it due to financial concerns?
WSU has demonstrated a desire to move health-related areas of study to Spokane, but the back-and-forth nature of the decision regarding the CDP oozes of unspoken motives.
I want to be able to look through the e-mails and documents sent between department members when making this decision.
The story will highlight what the move means for current students, as well as the future of the dietetics program at WSU.
View my Records Request
WSU has demonstrated a desire to move health-related areas of study to Spokane, but the back-and-forth nature of the decision regarding the CDP oozes of unspoken motives.
I want to be able to look through the e-mails and documents sent between department members when making this decision.
The story will highlight what the move means for current students, as well as the future of the dietetics program at WSU.
View my Records Request
News from the Weekend
Budget cuts are beginning to take a toll on all levels of education:
Vancouver school superintendent takes pay cut
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Vancouver, Wash., school Superintendent Steven Webb has voluntarily taken a 4.5 percent pay cut, and he's asking teachers to take a 1 percent reduction.
Citing state budget cuts, Webb says he's having his pay cut to $204,370 from $214,000.
Ann Giles, president of the Vancouver Education Association, says teachers already face a loss of two days' pay under legislation pending in Olympia. She adds that they'll also likely pay more out of pocket for medical benefits.
The teachers receive (between) $38,526 and $70,387 a year. They don't expect to see a 4.2 percent raise once promised by the state, but they'll still get increases of $460 to $1,200 for another year of
classroom experience.
Vancouver schools face a $5.6 million to $8 million shortfall out of a $212 million budget.
Fees jumping at University of Idaho:
Redistributing wealth
MARCUS KELLIS, Argonaut
Vancouver school superintendent takes pay cut
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Vancouver, Wash., school Superintendent Steven Webb has voluntarily taken a 4.5 percent pay cut, and he's asking teachers to take a 1 percent reduction.
Citing state budget cuts, Webb says he's having his pay cut to $204,370 from $214,000.
Ann Giles, president of the Vancouver Education Association, says teachers already face a loss of two days' pay under legislation pending in Olympia. She adds that they'll also likely pay more out of pocket for medical benefits.
The teachers receive (between) $38,526 and $70,387 a year. They don't expect to see a 4.2 percent raise once promised by the state, but they'll still get increases of $460 to $1,200 for another year of
classroom experience.
Vancouver schools face a $5.6 million to $8 million shortfall out of a $212 million budget.
Fees jumping at University of Idaho:
Redistributing wealth
MARCUS KELLIS, Argonaut
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Journalism Legends Worry About Future
Michael Walsh
The 35th Edward R. Murrow Symposium at Washington State University offered a sense of irony. Helen Thomas and Bob Schieffer were presented with lifetime achievement awards while they spoke about the uncertain future of journalism.
“The technological marvels which have allowed us to deliver news as it happens, has caused a seismic shift,” said Schieffer, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism, as he addressed a crowd of about 500 people Tuesday night at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
Schieffer, 72, carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. He has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital –the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill –and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972.
His biggest fear for the future of journalism is that online media will bring a lack of accountability and integrity, the very pillars for which the industry stands.
“The web is the only vehicle we have ever had to deliver news to the world without an editor,” Schieffer said.
Thomas, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, also voiced her concern about the current state of journalism.
“Unfortunately, everyone with a laptop thinks they are a journalist,” she said.
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the Press,” Thomas has been a White House correspondent since John F. Kennedy was in office. Thomas spent 57 years with United Press International, from 1943 to 2000, eventually becoming the first female United Press bureau chief. She has traveled the world with seven presidents in the past quarter-century and now writes as a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Having a lifetime of experience covering politics, both honorees are worried about how the American government will be affected by the decline of newspapers.
“American democracy, as we know it, cannot exist without access to independent coverage,” Schieffer said.
Thomas said the future looks grim because in the last decade, reporters have failed the public by going along with the censorship the government is trying to enforce. She is also worried journalism may never return to where it was because great reporters that have been around for years are losing jobs everyday.
“I’m not trying to stop progress,” Thomas said, “but I am going to miss traditional journalism.”
Schieffer, while also pessimistic about the future, argues the values and ethics of traditional journalism can still be upheld. He said the advances put an added pressure on schools to instill the values of conventional journalism, but as long as there are writers who understand the ethics, they will be sought.
Elizabeth Boss, a public relations major at WSU, was happy they addressed the shift in journalism and appreciated Schieffer’s message for everyone to continue to support media and read newspapers instead of going on the internet to only find what you want.
Schieffer also said it could become very difficult to support media though.
“Technology is moving so fast that no one can say where this is going,” Schieffer said after admitting he does not know what he will do if the day comes he has to start his morning without a coffee and a newspaper.
Spokane resident, Mary Stanley, came to the symposium with a friend to hear the two honorees speak. She came away impressed their stances on priorities in news coverage.
“They were great,” Stanley said. “I liked what Schieffer said about integrity. It is really important to get the truth.”
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
Both recipients this year spoke to the legacy of Murrow.
Thomas said Murrow set himself apart because he realized the historical relevance of the daily drama he covered, and was able to relay that emotion to his audience.
Schieffer was flattered to be mentioned with his fellow CBS icon.
“To be given an award with Ed Murrow’s name on it is beyond anything I could have ever imagined,” he said.
The 35th Edward R. Murrow Symposium at Washington State University offered a sense of irony. Helen Thomas and Bob Schieffer were presented with lifetime achievement awards while they spoke about the uncertain future of journalism.
“The technological marvels which have allowed us to deliver news as it happens, has caused a seismic shift,” said Schieffer, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism, as he addressed a crowd of about 500 people Tuesday night at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
Schieffer, 72, carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. He has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital –the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill –and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972.
His biggest fear for the future of journalism is that online media will bring a lack of accountability and integrity, the very pillars for which the industry stands.
“The web is the only vehicle we have ever had to deliver news to the world without an editor,” Schieffer said.
Thomas, the recipient of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, also voiced her concern about the current state of journalism.
“Unfortunately, everyone with a laptop thinks they are a journalist,” she said.
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the Press,” Thomas has been a White House correspondent since John F. Kennedy was in office. Thomas spent 57 years with United Press International, from 1943 to 2000, eventually becoming the first female United Press bureau chief. She has traveled the world with seven presidents in the past quarter-century and now writes as a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Having a lifetime of experience covering politics, both honorees are worried about how the American government will be affected by the decline of newspapers.
“American democracy, as we know it, cannot exist without access to independent coverage,” Schieffer said.
Thomas said the future looks grim because in the last decade, reporters have failed the public by going along with the censorship the government is trying to enforce. She is also worried journalism may never return to where it was because great reporters that have been around for years are losing jobs everyday.
“I’m not trying to stop progress,” Thomas said, “but I am going to miss traditional journalism.”
Schieffer, while also pessimistic about the future, argues the values and ethics of traditional journalism can still be upheld. He said the advances put an added pressure on schools to instill the values of conventional journalism, but as long as there are writers who understand the ethics, they will be sought.
Elizabeth Boss, a public relations major at WSU, was happy they addressed the shift in journalism and appreciated Schieffer’s message for everyone to continue to support media and read newspapers instead of going on the internet to only find what you want.
Schieffer also said it could become very difficult to support media though.
“Technology is moving so fast that no one can say where this is going,” Schieffer said after admitting he does not know what he will do if the day comes he has to start his morning without a coffee and a newspaper.
Spokane resident, Mary Stanley, came to the symposium with a friend to hear the two honorees speak. She came away impressed their stances on priorities in news coverage.
“They were great,” Stanley said. “I liked what Schieffer said about integrity. It is really important to get the truth.”
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
Both recipients this year spoke to the legacy of Murrow.
Thomas said Murrow set himself apart because he realized the historical relevance of the daily drama he covered, and was able to relay that emotion to his audience.
Schieffer was flattered to be mentioned with his fellow CBS icon.
“To be given an award with Ed Murrow’s name on it is beyond anything I could have ever imagined,” he said.
Questions
Helen Thomas:
What did you learn by traveling overseas with presidents that you could not have learned any other way?
Who was the most difficult president to cover?
Which scandal, Nixon or Clinton, was more difficult to cover as a reporter and which was more painful as an American?
Bob Schieffer:
Which Washington beat was the most challenging? Rewarding?
What do you enjoy about moderating presidential debates?
What is the most memorable interview of your career?
What did you learn by traveling overseas with presidents that you could not have learned any other way?
Who was the most difficult president to cover?
Which scandal, Nixon or Clinton, was more difficult to cover as a reporter and which was more painful as an American?
Bob Schieffer:
Which Washington beat was the most challenging? Rewarding?
What do you enjoy about moderating presidential debates?
What is the most memorable interview of your career?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Murrow Symposium Background
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the Press,” Helen Thomas has been a White House correspondent since John F. Kennedy was in office. Thomas spent 57 years with United Press International, from 1943 to 2000, eventually becoming the first female United Press bureau chief. She has traveled the world with seven presidents in the past quarter-century and now writes as a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers.
Bob Schieffer carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. Schieffer has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972. Career highlights include moderating the final presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
Bob Schieffer carries more than 50 years of broadcast journalism experience, 40 of them at CBS News. Schieffer has covered all four major beats in the nation’s capital and has been a floor reporter at every Democratic and Republican National Convention since 1972. Career highlights include moderating the final presidential debates in 2004 and 2008.
The Murrow Symposium is an annual event to recognize the accomplishments of a national figure in print or broadcast journalism. Previous recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Don Hewitt. The symposium is named after legendary journalist and WSU graduate, Edward R. Murrow.
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