Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education Report Fall 2006

Moratorium Lifted on New Program Submissions
In July, the CADE board lifted the moratorium and will be accepting applications from new education programs of all types. The CADE board reconsidered the moratorium in light of the final report of the HOD Dietetics Education Task Force; the House Leadership Team’s appointment of a Phase 2 Task Force to consider next steps in response to the report; and the extended timeline for review and revision of the CADE Eligibility Requirements and Accreditation Standards, which will not be completed until 2008.

New Candidacy for Accreditation Process Adopted
To address the quality of new programs under development, the CADE board adopted a new process to replace Developmental Accreditation. After a thorough discussion of quality concerns and a review of procedures used by other similar accrediting agencies, the CADE board concluded that the paper only review process for Developmental Accreditation, usually involving multiple submissions, did not provide the CADE review team and CADE board sufficient evidence that the proposed program would be in compliance with the Accreditation Standards when the program was implemented.

The new process, called Candidacy for Accreditation, requires review of an eligibility application and self-study and an on-site visit to verify that the program is progressing toward compliance with the Accreditation Standards and demonstrates institutional readiness to implement the proposed program. A $500.00 eligibility application fee and a $5500.00 self-study application/site visit fee cover the administrative and site visit costs of the process.

The policies, procedures and fee schedule for Candidacy for Accreditation are available on the ADA/CADE Web site at www.eatright.org/cade or from CADE staff at cade@eatright.org or 1/800-877-1600 ext. 5400. It is highly recommended that any institution considering development of a new dietetics education program for CADE-accreditation consult with CADE staff early in the development process, complete all CADE Web-based education courses and attend a CADE-sponsored workshop.

Demonstration Program Continues
Because the CADE board continues to support the work of the DETF, policies and procedures for the Seamless Graduate Degree Demonstration Program remain in effect. CADE-accredited programs are invited to propose and develop demonstration projects for Provisional Accreditation based on these policies and procedures. Since fall 2005, three demonstration proposals were approved at The Johns Hopkins University/Bayview Medical Center, the University of Vermont and Georgia State University. We look forward to sharing the results once these Graduate Integrated Programs are fully implemented.

Response to Final Report of the Dietetics Education Task Force
The CADE board responded to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, thanking the DETF members and acknowledging their dedication and hard work to accomplish the objectives given to them by the HOD over the past two and a half years. CADE’s response also expressed appreciation for the role of the HOD in establishing the standards for practice performance necessary for the future of the profession. The CADE board looks forward to the work of the Phase 2 Task Force. The TF results will inform CADE’s process for maintaining accreditation standards for quality education programs preparing practitioners to meet the performance standards for the profession.

The CADE board again expressed its support for a technical level of practice for the profession. We will continue to maintain and implement standards for quality dietetic technician programs and are hopeful that lifting the moratorium will encourage more community colleges to develop programs to prepare DTRs. We believe that preparing a critical mass of DTRs in more geographic areas will be important to advancing the RD level of practice.

Accreditation Standards Committee Update Report
The response to the HLT included the June 2006 report on and timeline for the Accreditation Standards Committee’s (ASC) work, which is posted on the ADA/CADE Web page at www.eatright.org/cade under Standards Review Process. The next step will be an invitational meeting November 2006 to convene practitioners and educators representing all program types and areas of practice to assist with drafting expected competencies and knowledge statements for entry-level practice. Draft competencies and knowledge statements will be incorporated in the next iteration of the accreditation standards, which will be circulated for comment before adoption by the CADE board in 2008.

CADE Ad Hoc Committee Establishing Benchmarks for Program Outcomes
To prepare for CADE’S application for re-recognition by the U.S. Department of Education, an ad hoc committee was formed to explore the development of thresholds or benchmarks for program/graduate outcomes. These benchmarks would be in addition to the registration exam pass rate in the current accreditation standards. Upon approval of the CADE board, these additional measures will be forwarded to the CADE Accreditation Standards Committee for inclusion in the next revision of the standards.

Because there is no aggregate or frequency data available for the number of students enrolling and completing each type of program, the Committee determined a need to collect data on completion rates in order to establish a threshold for this outcome. Thus, the Committee proposed definitions for completion rates and data will be collected based on these definitions via CADE’s fall annual report process.

The committee’s next steps include (1) developing strategies for CADE review teams and the CADE board to use these measures to monitor quality and make accreditation decisions; and (2) communicating CADE expectations to program directors for comment before implementation. Incorporating these benchmarks in the accreditation process will enable CADE to be more accountable to the public, students and employers in particular, for the outcomes of its programs and their graduates. CADE needs the support of the ADA leadership as it diligently works to ensure consistent application and rigor of its standards and processes.

For more information on the items in this report, actions of the CADE board, a listing of CADE board members and reviewers, please visit the ADA Web site at www.eatright.org/cade. The CADE September 2006 Newsletter is available online at www.eatright.org/ada/ada/files/september_2006_newsletter.pdf.

If you have questions about CADE and its activities, please contact the CADE Chair Louise Peck at lpeck@u.washington.edu or CADE staff Beverly Mitchell at bmitchell@eatright.org.

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