Program Goals

Goal One: The Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD) graduates will be prepared to gain admittance into a Dietetic Internship (DI), Coordinated Program (CP), or individualized Supervised Practice Pathways (ISPP’s) Program.

Objectives:

• Over a 3 year period, at least 80 percent of program students complete program/degree requirements within 3 years (150% of the program length).
• Over a 5-year period, the mean for “progress on Relevant Objectives” for NUTR courses in the DPD is at or above 4.0/5.0 (raw score), as reported on the IDEA (course evaluation) Group Summary Report (GSR) or database.
• Over a 5-year period, 80 percent of DPD graduates report (mean score of greater than or equal to 3.5/5.0) that the DPD program meets or exceeds each learning objective.
• Over a 3-year period, 60 percent of program graduates apply for admission to a supervised practice program prior or within 12 months of graduation.
• Over a 3-year period, 40 percent of program graduates are admitted to a supervised practice program within 12 months of graduation.

Goal Two: The Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD) will prepare graduates to become entry-level dietetics practitioners or registered dietitian nutritionists.

Objectives:

• Over a 3-year period, the program’s one-year pass rate (graduates who pass the registration exam within one year of first attempt) on the DCR credentialing exam for dietitian nutritionists is at least 80%.
• Over a 4-year period, 80 percent of Supervised Practice Program Directors will agree or strongly agree (score 3.5/5.0 or above) that the Benedictine University (DPD has met or exceeded preparation of our graduates accepted into their program.
• Over a 5-year period, of those DPD students who are not matched and/or did not apply to supervised practice programs 10% will take the DTR exam within 12 months of graduation.
• Over a 5-year period, the program’s one-year pass rate (graduates who pass the dietetic technician exam within one year of the first attempt) on the CDR credentialing exam for dietetic technicians is at least 80%.

Goal Three: The Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD) graduates will demonstrate a commitment to service and life-ling learning.

Objectives:

• Ninety percent of the DPD students will complete a leadership self-assessment prior to completing the program, and will rate their leadership abilities/skills on average 3.8 or higher (on a 5.0 scale).
• Over a 7-year period, 10% of DPD alumni who responded to our survey will report receipt of some form of leadership recognition, including an award.

Program outcomes data are available upon request.

In addition to successful completion of the nutrition and Dietetics major, the student will successfully demonstrate knowledge, application and integration of principles of health promotion and disease prevention with normal nutrition, medical nutrition therapy and public health nutrition for varied populations. Meeting the above major requirements also satisfies the following General Education requirements: Engaged Learning, Learning Community, two NUTR Writing intensive courses, Life-Scientific (QLS), Physical Scientific (QPS), Computational, Mathematical and Analytical (QCM) and Global.

Dietetics Programs

The curricula for our Benedictine University Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics (DPD) and Dietetic Internship program have been granted accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, (800) 877-1600, ext. 5400. Our most recent accreditation visit was in 2017, and the program was awarded accreditation through June 30, 2025. Outcomes are available upon request.

The United States Department of Education recognizes ACEND as a Title IX gatekeeper. Per ACEND:

“This recognition affirms that ACEND meets national standards as is a reliable authority on the quality of nutrition and dietetics education programs: (https://www.eatrightpro.org/acend)

This program does not meet the requirements for licensure in all states.