Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education Spring 2006 Report

Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education Spring 2006 Report

CADE Policies and Procedures for Demonstration Programs

The Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education developed policies and procedures for a Demonstration Program to encourage innovative programs based on the February 2005 Dietetics Education Task Force recommendations for RD education. In early October, CADE invited accredited Didactic, Coordinated and Internship programs to use these procedures to propose demonstration projects for RD eligibility that reflect a graduate program with both the necessary didactic and supervised practice components. Two proposals were submitted February 1, 2006 and will be reviewed at the April 21 to 22, 2006 meeting. Proposals meeting the demonstration program guidelines will be granted provisional accreditation status and graduates will be eligible for the CDR registration examination for dietitians. Demonstration projects will assist CADE and the DETF with the charge given to them by the House of Delegates in June.

CADE Leader Positions for 2006 to 2007

CADE administrator member
The Commission elected David D. Gale, PhD, Dean, College of Health Sciences at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky. Dr. Gale will serve a three-year term, replacing retiring administrator member Marcia Pfeiffer, MS, RD.

Program representatives-elect
The Commission elected the following individuals to the Program Representative-elect positions. Their terms will begin June 1, 2006.

Didactic Programs Sharon K. Bode, PhD, RD, DI and DPD Director at University of Houston; Consultant Dietitian at BLB Consulting, Houston, TX.
Dietetic Technician Programs Marilyn Laskowski-Sachnoff, MA, RD, Chair, Hotel, Restaurant & Institution Management; Acting Dean, Division of Business, Computer Science and Engineering Technologies, Middlesex County College, Edison, NJ
Dietetic Internships Gina M. Wack, MS, RD, Dietetics Consultant, Glencoe, AL
Program Representative-at-large Karen P. Lacey, MS, RD, DI and DPD Director, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI

CADE student member
The CADE Nominating Committee received many recommendations from program directors for the student member position on CADE. From this outstanding group of students, the Commission selected Christine R. Clarahan. Ms. Clarahan is a student enrolled in the DPD at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. She expects to complete her dietetics program by May 2007. The CADE student member is appointed for one year and also serves on the ADA Student Council Advisory Committee.

CADE Budget and Fees
Since 2003, the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education has made efforts towards self-sufficiency as a result of an ADA Finance Committee recommendation. Thus, once again, CADE reviewed the essential functions of an accrediting body as required by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation, revenue and expense projections for Fiscal Year 2007 and beyond, as well as the 2003 plan for self-sufficiency. To maintain quality standards and a rigorous accreditation process as required by USDE and CHEA and become self-sustaining, CADE voted to increase the annual fee for 2008 and 2009 by 4 precent yearly, the administrative site visit fee to $1,500.00 and the administrative fee for a focused site visit to $2,500.00. In 2008, the annual accreditation fee for each education program will be $1,200.00 and $1,250.00 in 2009. Included in this newsletter is the complete fees schedule for 2006 through 2009.

CADE Policies and Procedures for Accreditation Review
In anticipation of CADE’s next review for re-recognition by the U. S. Department of Education in spring 2007, the Commission reviewed policies and procedures and identified changes needed in order to be compliant with the Criteria for Recognition and improve the rigor of CADE processes. Revisions to policies and procedures in the following areas will be considered at the April CADE meeting:

1. Deferral and Probation Timelines
If deferral is based on noncompliance and program is subsequently placed on probation, total time for a program to come into compliance cannot exceed two years.

2. Distance Education
CADE has distance education in its scope of recognition. Thus, it must clearly document how policies, procedures and standards are applied to the “rigor and quality of the distance education component” in site visit reports and decision-meeting minutes. Applications for eligibility and initial/continued accreditation should identify if programs have a distance education component. Also CADE must show how reviewers and Commission members have been trained to review and analyze distance education relative to its standards.

3. Program reviewer/site visitor policies
These policies must clearly state that promoting oneself for a faculty position or as a consultant is prohibited and will be grounds for dismissal. Also, each site visit team must include at least one educator and one practitioner.

4. Monitoring Major Changes
Policies and procedures for substantive changes must prescribe agency investigations and examinations, including site visits that are sufficient to ensure that the agency’s standards continue to be met.

5. Standards Review
Accreditors must solicit feedback on current standards from communities of interest beyond accredited programs, e.g., students, employers, faculty. (Please see Attachment 1 for an update from the CADE Accreditation Standards Committee.)

6. Graduate Outcomes and Accreditation Decisions
Accreditors are expected to define what constitutes success with regard to graduate achievement. Requiring programs to collect and analyze student achievement data and use the results to improve the program does not meet the USDE requirements. In addition to the registration exam pass rate, CADE will need to establish thresholds or ranges for other outcomes such as completion rate and employment rate that could be clearly and consistently applied to all programs and used to evaluate programs for compliance.

Following the April CADE meeting, the CADE Governing Document will be amended and the revised policies and procedures will be circulated to program directors for their use.

Professional Development for Program Directors

DEP Area Meetings
Continuing to provide professional development opportunities for program directors, a Commission member and staff facilitated a session on student learning outcomes entitled "The What, So What, Now What of Student Learning Outcomes" at each of the Dietetics Educators of Practitioners (DEP) 2006 Area Meetings. One of the hallmarks of continuous curriculum improvement is determining marketplace needs and whether students are learning what is being taught. CADE expects assessment of student learning outcomes to be an essential component of curriculum review and a management skill of all program directors.

Program Reviewer/Site Visitor Training Workshop
CADE’s annual program reviewer/site visitor training workshop which will be held July 22 to 23, 2006. Once again, there will be room for 30 program directors and/or faculty members wishing to attend on a fee basis to prepare for an accreditation site visit in the near future. A registration form can be obtained from the CADE Web page.

Visit the CADE Web Page at http://www.eatright.org/cade for:

  • List of currently accredited entry-level education programs
  • Access to the March 2006 CADE Newsletter
  • FAQ on the CADE Standards Review Process
  • CADE Board members and program reviewers
If you have questions about CADE and its activities, please contact the CADE Chair Linda Gabrielson, MS, RD at lgabrielson@hancockcollege.edu or CADE staff Beverly Mitchell at bmitchell@eatright.org.


Attachment 1

CADE ACCREDITATION STANDARDS COMMITTEE REPORT

The ASC was appointed in July 2005 to conduct a comprehensive review of the Eligibility Requirements and Accreditation Standards to ensure the validity and reliability of the standards for quality education programs. In addition to CADE and a public member, the ASC includes representatives of practice and research.

Members are:

  • Linda Young, MS, RD, LD, Chair and DPD Director, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • Jane F. Allendorph, MS, RD, LD, Director, Dietetic Technician Program, Harper College
  • L. Clare Costello, MEd, RD, Training Coordinator, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals
  • Marcia Pfeiffer, MS, RD, President, St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley
  • Mary Ann Tuft, President, Tuft & Associates
  • Katrina Holt, MPH, MS, RD, Research Instructor, Georgetown Public Health Institute
  • Suzanna Nye, MS, RD, CTM, CC, FADA, Manager, California Department of Education
  • Christina Biesemeier, MS, RD, Clinical Nutrition Manager, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Natalie Webb, MS, RD, LD, President, Nutrition Network, Inc.
  • Kevin Haubrick, MS, RD, LD, Director of Food and Nutrition, Baptist Medical Center
The last comprehensive review was in 2001 subsequent to the 2000 CDR practice audit. The 2005 to 2006 review is in conjunction with both the 2005 CDR Practice Audit and recommendations from the 2004 to 2006 HOD Dietetics Education Task Force. The ASC will:

  1. Review, validate and/or revise ERAS principles and criteria with input from stakeholders (accredited program faculty, administrators and students, practitioners and employers).

  2. Review, validate and/or revise knowledge, skills and competencies, including emphasis areas, which define curriculum requirements with input on current and future practice from stakeholders (accredited programs, practitioners and employers).

As of March 2006, the ASC has held one in-person and three teleconference meetings. ASC activities to date include the following:

  • Met with the CDR Practice Audit Committee to learn results of the 2005 practice audit of entry-level RDs and DTRs.
  • Began a review of reports on current professional practice, such as the HOD Dietetics Education Task Force reports, Scope of Dietetics Practice Framework, Standards of Practice for Nutrition Care and Nutrition Diagnosis and other reports on practice areas relevant to dietetics.
  • Created a timeline for comparing existing data on practice with requirements in Standard Two: Curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes.
  • Identified potential research questions, existing data to review and methods to obtain additional data from relevant groups.
  • Provided input on the screener and discussion questions for the CDR Web-based employer focus groups.
  • Worked with Readex Research to develop a Web-based survey to collect feedback on the current ERAS from all stakeholder groups (survey will be done April 2006).
During 2006 and 2007, there will be additional meetings and conference calls to review feedback from practitioners, employers, and program faculty, administrators and students on the ERAS overall; determine the extent of revisions needed to update the ERAS; convene content experts to revise the knowledge, skills and competency requirements for curricula based on entry-level RD and DTR practice. At the same time, CADE will review its accreditation policies and processes in light of the proposed changes to the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation criteria for accrediting agencies. Once standards and processes have been revised, they will be circulated among all stakeholders for comment before they are finalized and adopted.

If you have questions about the CADE Standards Review Process, please contact Linda Young, MS, RD at lyoung3@unl.edu or CADE staff Beverly Mitchell at bmitchell@eatright.org.

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