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Program Mission Statement

Through excellence in teaching, research, and service, the º£½ÇÉçÇø (UNF) provides a high quality curriculum and experiential learning environment that produces program graduates who achieve registered dietitian nutritionist status, professional employment, and/or further education.

Nutrition students complete a rigorous evidenced-based program that prepares them for dietetic internships, professional employment, and/or graduate education. Using a variety of learning approaches including lectures, case studies, guest speakers, role playing, and team work, students are prepared to apply the nutrition care process in a clinical and community setting. A capstone Business Plan project prepares students for entry-level employment in the area of food management. A community-based learning experience equips students with the skills to deliver programs and services in the area of community nutrition and is reflective of the high value that faculty place on community service. In the senior year, a capstone course helps to instill concepts of professional practice, ethics, and lifelong learning. Students have opportunities to engage in research with nutrition faculty who are experts in the areas of cultural competency, metabolic syndrome, pediatric obesity, bioactive components and disease prevention, food insecurity, and eating disorders. In addition, students are encouraged to join national and local associations including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the First Coast Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, to meet and network with nutrition professionals.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates will be able:

Content/Discipline-Specific Knowledge/Skills

• Students will describe the governance of nutrition and dietetics practice, such as the Scope of Nutrition and Dietetics Practice and the Code of Ethics for the Profession of Nutrition and Dietetics.
• Students will identify and describe the work of interprofessional teams and the roles of others with whom the registered dietitian nutritionist collaborates.

Communication Skills

• Students will demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication and documentation.

Critical Thinking Skills

• Students will apply critical thinking skills.

Assessment Approaches

Strategies used to assess student learning include direct measures such as exams, case studies, research papers, presentations, assignments, and projects including mock job interviews and counseling sessions. In FOS4041 Food Science an oral research presentation assesses professional communication skills, and a research paper is used to assess student's use of professional literature to make evidence-based practice decisions. Comprehensive case studies in DIE3213 and DIE3246, Nutrition Therapy I and II, respectively, gauge the use of the multistep nutrition care process for disease prevention and treatment, and assess the student's ability to locate evidence-based guidelines and protocols, and then apply them to practice using critical thinking. Results from the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe Examination administered to all seniors demonstrate proficiency in food safety and sanitation. In the senior capstone class students complete a reflective self assessment and an e-portfolio with the aim to professionally market themselves to internship directors and prospective employers. A Business Plan project in DIE4125 Management of Food and Nutrition Services II assesses student's ability to develop, market, and deliver a nutrition program or service.