Dietetics Program Bloated With Uncertainty

MICHAEL WALSH

Anthony Jorgenson’s path to graduation has been far from conventional. On Feb. 23, that path took another detour.

Jorgenson, in his third year at Washington State University, received an e-mail that evening telling him his major –the coordinated dietetics program –would be discontinued immediately at the Pullman campus. Monday night quickly turned to Tuesday morning as Jorgenson scrambled for answers.

The one-time mechanical engineering major now faced the possibility of seeking yet another career.

“I was discouraged in such a way that I considered other majors despite being so close to this one,” Jorgenson said.

Ultimately, the Medical Lake, Wash.-native chose to stay the course because he wants to be a dietician.

Now, in order to achieve that, Jorgenson, 20, has to make another life-changing decision.

The graduation track he started on when he became a dietetics major is known as the coordinated dietetics program; the other option for Pullman students majoring in dietetics is the general dietetics program.

In the coordinated program, students are placed in an internship upon graduation as part of the curriculum. In the general program, graduates are required to find an internship on their own.

With the change announced by the College of Pharmacy, the coordinated program will only be offered at the WSU Spokane campus.

“The university wants to move all health-related degrees to Spokane,” said Miriam Ballejos, associate professor of nutrition and exercise metabolism at WSU.

That leaves Jorgenson with two options. He can stay in Pullman for two more years to finish his degree in the general program; or he can finish the coordinated program in Spokane.

In order to enroll at Spokane he would first have to finish another year of prerequisites in Pullman. Then, the Spokane program requires two full years in addition to the internship.

The decision boils down to time, and thus money. If Jorgenson wants to continue in the coordinated program he will be in college an extra year than if he were to graduate from the general program.

He chose to stay in Pullman.

“It’s an astronomical amount of money,” Jorgenson said of deciding not to stay in school the extra year. “As a student, I didn’t want to be buried in student loans for the rest of my life.”

It is a decision Jorgenson thought he avoided.

This past October, the College of Pharmacy held a presentation to inform students of changes in the dietetics program. At that time, both programs were going to be moved to the Spokane campus.

After the forum, Ballejos said, students got involved and reached a compromise with the administration: every student who had started working towards their degree would be allowed ample time to finish their studies.

Still no announcement was made to the students, but rumors swirled. So, Jorgenson went on thinking the changes would not affect him.

While he was registering for classes and signing a lease to live in Pullman for the next year, a different plan was brewing for the dietetics program.

Ballejos said the need to make a change was largely a human resources issue. She also said the program will have to follow a new set of standards starting in November which will require an extensive report, and the department is stretched too thin to be able to meet the obligations without consolidating.

Even still, the timing of the announcement is perplexing to faculty and students alike. The decision was handed down after the deadline to apply to the coordinated program in Spokane for the 2009-10 academic year.

“I don’t know why it was announced at this point,” Ballejos said. “I wish it had been sooner.”

“It’s frustrating,” Jorgenson said. “There just seems to have been a major lack of communication.”

James Kehrer, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said the administration did everything it could.

“The announcement was made as soon as was possible given the progress of information regarding the new accreditation requirements and the budget reductions,” Kehrer said in an e-mail, Wednesday. “I do not consider the announcement late. It was made literally within a few days after we concluded this was the only option.”

For a number of students it was late enough, but Ballejos said there are options for those students who fell between the cracks.

“If there is anyone who wants to apply to Spokane but missed the deadline, we could work that out,” Ballejos said.

The amnesty offer does not apply to Jorgenson who has to take more classes before he is eligible to apply to Spokane. So for now, he just keeps taking classes and inching towards a degree.

“All I can do is try to stay informed,” Jorgenson said.