WSU Dietetics Continues Roller Coaster Ride

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