Program Prioritization Report Nutrition Graduate Program Appalachian State University CENTRALITY TO UNIVERSITY S MISSION

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1 Program Prioritization Report Nutrition Graduate Program Appalachian State University CENTRALITY TO UNIVERSITY S MISSION Provide a brief historical and contextual description of the program and describe to what extent the program is mission critical to Appalachian State? (Optional) Describe how enhancement and/or expansion of the program fits into Appalachian s strategic directions as well as those of the entire UNC system. Appalachian s Mission states in part, Appalachian's fundamental mission is to discover, create, transmit, and apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society. This mission is achieved by offering graduate students distinctive, relevant programs; maintaining a faculty whose members serve as excellent teachers and scholarly mentors for their students and who produce high levels of scholarship and creative activities. The mission of the Graduate Program in Nutrition is to prepare graduates to function as dietetic professionals utilizing rigorous academic preparation, research experience, and guided practice in rural health settings to enhance careers in nutrition. The congruence of the mission of the Program with that of the University is shown by its distinctive nature.the program prepares graduates to become Registered Dietitians and provides the coursework and research experience to gain a Master of Science degree. The faculty are excellent teachers, as shown by the faculty evaluations completed by students each semester and the peer reviews of graduate faculty. These faculty members mentor the graduate students in a research project which results in a poster presentation at two professional endeavors. These students gain a focus in rural health; this focus makes this program unique. Many of these graduates practice in rural settings, bringing a greater degree of health care to these areas. History The Nutrition Graduate Program, housed in the Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management has been part of the College of Health Sciences since its inception in July The mission of the Nutrition Graduate Program is also critical to the mission of the College of Health Sciences in establishing itself as the premier institution for preparing health and human science professionals in Western North Carolina. The Nutrition Graduate Program is the beneficiary of a long heritage of strong administrative, faculty and student support. Students have traditionally excelled in both the classroom setting as well as the Dietetic Internship where students are placed in communities within a 100-mile radius of Boone to complete dietetic experiences in foodservice, community and clinical settings. The faculty members maintain a strong commitment to development of an exemplary Program. Faculty are delighted that many graduates have chosen to build professional careers in Western North Carolina; and, indeed, a number of former students now serve as supervisors to current students

2 Initially, the Master of Arts in Home Economics was approved in Fall 1990; the first student graduated in Summer 1991; nutrition was an area of focus in this degree. In fall 1995, the Department of Home Economics became the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. A Master of Arts in Family and Consumer Sciences was offered the next fifteen years. The degree was revised to designate three concentrations child and family studies, general, and foods and nutrition (with a dietetic internship); this revision was effective in fall In fall 2010, the Nutrition faculty from the FCS department joined with Health Care Management faculty from the Walker College of Business to form the Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management in the newly formed College of Health Sciences. The graduate degree was renamed a Master of Science in Nutrition. The graduate program is a combined degree with both graduate coursework and a Dietetic Internship (DI). Within North Carolina this required combination of the Dietetic Internship within the graduate degree is unique to Appalachian State University. The first year of the two year program is coursework while the second year is an accredited Dietetic Internship at sites in the Western North Carolina rural area. The Dl is a supervised practice program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Students also participate in research with their graduate mentor, with a thesis being optional. Mission Critical The Graduate Program in Nutrition fits well under the umbrella of Appalachian s mission statement and is congruent in 3 specific ways: 1) Knowledge is transmitted creatively in the classrooms of the first year experience; 2) knowledge is discovered and created during the research experience principally during the second semester and summer and 3) students learn to actively apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society in an intensive fashion during a 9-month internship in communities and hospitals around western North Carolina. Expansion of the Program Given the interest in and need for Register Dietitians, the penultimate product of our program, both in our state and nationally, the Graduate Program in Nutrition is poised for growth, given the appropriate resources. This will increase the size and stability of the on-campus graduate student population of Appalachian State University. The applicants are available and the jobs are available. Needed are resources both on campus and off campus to sustain growth in the program. DEMAND Provide a brief explanation for the enrollment, degrees awarded, and Student Credit Hour (SCH) trends in the data for the last five years. Describe the quality of the applicant pool for the last five years. Are numbers increasing or decreasing? To what do you attribute the increase or decrease in applications? What strategies have the program faculty employed to recruit a larger and more qualified applicant pool for each of the last two years? What has been done to increase yield? Document the job prospects for the program s graduates? What verifiable evidence is there of sufficient student and employer demand to expand the program?

3 The Graduate Program in Nutrition currently admits 10 students each Fall. The program is 2 years long. Therefore, barring unforeseen withdrawals, 20 students are enrolled in the program at any one time. The program awards a Masters of Science (MS) in Nutrition. The total number of students enrolled in the program has been growing for the past five years until 2013, when available resources were deemed insufficient to support additional student placements: Program Graduation Year Total number of students Per Cent growth Degrees awarded % % % % 10 Student Credit Hours trends have increased in the last 5 years and particularly since 2010 when the College of Health Science was founded. These numbers only reflect the course loads of the full-time faculty and do not reflect the increased number of teaching adjuncts. Note that both the undergraduate and graduate loads have increased. The summer loads also have increased. The number of full-time faculty in the department has not increased in 5 years. Credit hour production by full-time graduate faculty in the Graduate Program in Nutrition Level Years Undergraduate Graduate Total The quality and number of applicants have improved over the last 5 years. Growth in numbers and quality can be attributed in part by four factors. First, the applicant pool across the country for the Dietetic Internship has increased dramatically. All programs nationwide have experienced an increase in applicants. Second, since the nutrition program joined the College of Health Sciences, the field and the programs offered have become more visible with the departmental name including the word Nutrition. Third, the degree has changed from a Master of Arts in Family and Consumer Sciences to a Master of Science in Nutrition. This has been a highly desirable change to applicants. Fourth, the agency accrediting the graduate program has asked each program to identify a unique focus. While most programs chose something common and safe like Clinical Practice, the ASU nutrition program chose Rural Health. This unique feature of the program may be attracting more applicants.

4 The quality of the applicant pool as measured by average undergraduate GPA has seen an overall upward trend, as follows: Application year Average Undergraduate GPA In the past 2 years the graduate program director has worked closely with the Graduate School to host an open house each November. On each of the 2 occasions so far about half a dozen prospective students have attended. As with any advertising program, the directly attributable effects are difficult to measure. However, each year a couple of students who have chosen Appalachian for graduate study in nutrition previously attended the open house. As part of advertising for the open house and more generally for the whole program, the graduate program director works with the recruiting efforts in the Graduate School. Mailings are sent to students with high GRE scores and who express an interest in Nutrition, Dietetics, or Foods. When the Graduate School recruiter visits schools within North Carolina and the adjacent states, the recruiter contacts the director of the undergraduate programs in Nutrition, whose names have been provided, to specifically connect with those students on that visit. In addition, the program provides a tri-fold brochure on the program. In the last couple of years, the faculty members have improved greatly the departmental and Program websites to provide accessible and comprehensive information that prospective students are seeking. The department also individually hosts 4-5 prospective students each year on campus visits. These visits usually last 2 hours and involve 2-3 faculty members and 1-2 current students. Demand for graduates According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, nationwide employment for Registered Dietitians is expected to grow at a rate 20% faster than average employment between 2010 and For the 2011 Nutrition graduating class, 80% of graduates obtained employment in the dietetics field within 3 months of graduation. For the 2012 graduating class, approximately 60% obtained dietetics-related employment within 3 months of graduation and greater than 80% within 6 months. Of the students graduating in 2013, 90% had obtained dietetics-related employment within three months of graduation. Student demand Over the past three years, the Program has received approximately three applications for each of ten openings. In the after-match placement period, the program has received as many as 50

5 inquiries per 1 or 2 available openings. A major shortage of dietetic internship programs exist nationwide, keeping student demand for all North Carolina dietetic programs, including the ASU Program, high. The growth of the ASU Program is limited only by available resources. Expansion At the present time, a high demand exists for every program placement we can provide. Because of the fierce competition for Dietetic Internship slots, these positions likely will be filled with students of a high caliber. If North Carolina wants Registered Dietitians to serve its aging population in the coming decades, especially those in underserved rural areas, expansion of the Graduate Program in Nutrition at Appalachian would be a necessary and prudent strategy. PROGRAM QUALITY How does the program identify and measure student learning outcomes? What is the quality of the program and what indicators are used to assess the quality? What external validation of program quality can be documented? Is the program accredited or has accreditation been sought? When was the curriculum revised most recently? What impact did the revision have on program quality? On applications and enrollment? What is the program s average time to degree? IF the program requires more than 2.5 years on average for completion, explain why and provide evidence that the program can offer courses and mentoring that would allow for a timely completion of the degree. In thesis programs, in what ways does the research affect the average time to degree? Does the department track placement of graduates? o If yes (for the last two years): What percentage of graduates are admitted to graduate or professional programs? What percentage is employed in the field of study? o If not: What plans does the department have to track placement of graduates? How does the program identify and measure student learning outcomes? The Program has identified student learning outcomes which are defined by the program s national accrediting body. Student learning outcomes in the program are called competencies, and require that the student demonstrate the ability to perform specific tasks at the level expected of an entry-level dietitian. Achievement of all student learning outcomes is evaluated and documented by the internship director in conjunction with field preceptors, using pre-defined benchmark criteria to determine whether or not the student has fulfilled the requirement. What is the quality of the program and what indicators are used to assess the quality? What external validation of program quality can be documented? Specific program goals have been determined and defined by the program in conjunction with the program s national accrediting body. Outcomes measures relating to each goal have been defined, and are measured annually to determine the extent to which the program has attained the goals. Revised goals and objectives were prepared in response to the accreditation visit, and were implemented for the 2012 graduating class. The program goals, with related outcomes measures, are:

6 Goal One: Develop and maintain a dietetic internship program that exemplifies excellence, for the purpose of preparing competent dietetics practitioners who possess the knowledge and skills necessary for dietetics practice. Outcomes measures for Goal One: a. The one-year RD exam pass rate will be > 80%. (Met 2011, 2012) b. 80% of students will indicate an average score of 3 out of a possible 5, using the Assessment by Graduate Students Leaving the Dietetic Internship Program, when asked to rate the internship s success at assisting them in achieving the ACENDrequired competencies. (Met 2011, 2012) c. 80% of preceptors will indicate an average satisfaction score regarding the ASU preceptor experience as 3 on a 5 point scale. (Met 2013) Goal Two: Produce in a timely manner graduates who are employable in a variety of dietetics practice settings including rural settings. Outcomes measures for Goal Two: a. All students will complete the program and receive a verification statement within 31.5 months of program start. (Met for past 5 years) b. 80 percent of employers will indicate satisfaction at a level of 3 on a 5 point rubric. (Met 2011, 2012) c. 80 percent of interns seeking employment will attain employment in the dietetics field within three months of graduation from the program. (Met 2011; in 2012 ~60% obtained employment with 3 months, and > 80% within 6 months; Met 2013) d. At least 30 percent of program graduates will choose to practice dietetics in the Appalachian regions of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and southwest Virginia, or in other rural areas. (Met 2012, 2013) What external validation of program quality can be documented? External validation of quality documentation includes: ACEND accreditation, with the most recent site visit occurring in February 2012 and resulting in full accreditation for a 10-year period Student exit interviews Student end-of-program surveys Preceptor surveys Employer surveys Registration Examination for Dietitians pass rates Is the program accredited or has accreditation been sought? The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). The most recent accreditation site visit was completed in February, Following the bi-annual meeting of the ACEND Board of Directors in October 2012, the program was granted full accreditation for a period of 10 years. When was the curriculum revised most recently? What impact did the revision have on program quality, applications and enrollment?

7 The last major change to the curriculum was after the move to the College of Health Sciences. A Family and Consumer Sciences course was removed and an elective was added. During , the program faculty designed and implemented rural-focused student learning outcomes which have been incorporated into the curriculum. Rural Health components were added to the internship and to all 4 Nutrition courses in the curriculum. As evidenced by student applications for admission, as well as anecdotal student comments to faculty, the Rural Health focus of the program has resulted in increased applications as well as enhanced attractiveness of the program for some students. In addition, plans are underway to add a Rural Health simulation component to the internship. Two faculty and their students currently are researching and creating this feature. What is the program s average time to degree? If the program requires more than 2.5 years on average for completion, explain why and provide evidence that the program can offer courses and mentoring that would allow for a timely completion of the degree. Over the past 5 years, 100% of students have completed the program within 24 months of entry. This includes students who chose the thesis option. All students are required to complete the program within 31.5 months of entry should extenuating circumstances be present. In thesis programs, in what ways does the research affect the average time to degree? Thesis students are informed at program entry that an extra summer will be required for completion of thesis requirements. This requirement was implemented one year ago. Expected program completion time for current thesis students is 24 months. FACULTY INVOLVED How many tenure track faculty members are teaching in this program? How many non tenure track (NTT) faculty are teaching in the program? What process is in place to review their qualifications to teach graduate courses? What is the average teaching load of the faculty in the department? How does that teaching load break down into graduate/undergraduate courses? If the program has a thesis track, what is the average thesis mentoring load of program faculty? What additional faculty resources would be necessary for the program to grow enrollment by 10%? By 20%? By 30%? Number and Tenure Track Status of Faculty Six faculty members in Nutrition have Graduate Faculty status. All six serve on graduate committees. Five are tenure track; four conduct research and serve as graduate committee chairs. Three tenure track members teach at the graduate level, in addition to teaching one or more undergraduate courses. One of the six is a non-tenure track faculty member who is the internship director; this faculty member teaches primarily at the graduate level; she teaches one undergraduate course in the fall. Qualification to teach at the graduate level is assessed at the point of employment and periodically when reviewed for reappointment, promotion, tenure, or at post-tenure review.

8 Teaching load The teaching load of tenured faculty is technically 12 hours per semester with reassigned time for research and/or administrative responsibilities. In the average teaching load among the 6 faculty with graduate status was 7.5 hours per semester. Three of these faculty taught the equivalent of six hours per semester because of reassigned time for administration and for research; two faculty taught nine hours per semester and the non-tenure track faculty member taught nine hours and had three hours reassigned for directing the dietetic internship. The average SCH production per year was 467 undergraduate SCH and 57 graduate SCH. Four of these six faculty have reassigned time as the department chair, director of an undergraduate program, the director of the graduate program, and the internship director. Thesis Track Only a few students in the program choose the thesis track. Among the current cohort, 2 students have chosen that route. In the and the cohorts, one student in each chose a thesis. With 3 or 4 active graduate mentors over that time, this averages to about one thesis per faculty member every 4 cohorts. Additional Faculty Resources Needed for Growth The program is seriously considering growing from 10 entering students per year to 12 entering students per year, a 20% increase. Two major constraints affect this modest growth. With the huge growth in the undergraduate program over the last 4 years (about tripling), the time available for mentoring graduate students and conducting research has greatly diminished for the current faculty. A non-tenure track faculty member was hired this fall, and a search is underway for possibly two new faculty members in tenure-track lines to alleviate some of this strain. The additional problem is the availability of internship sites in the rural area of western North Carolina and the faculty capacity to oversee these sites at greater distances from Boone. These internship issues will not be solved only by more tenure-track faculty but by greater institutional cooperation with internship sites and with additional administrative support for the program. FACILITIES/EQUIPMENT Are available space and equipment adequate and appropriate for the program? What would it cost to provide space and/or equipment to enhance the program and increase enrollment? Equipment that would help greatly to both enhance the program and increase enrollment would be a simulation lab with capacity for high fidelity simulation. Such a lab would have a sim man that could be programmed to react to dietetic students, to program tube feedings or parenteral feedings. The instructor can react to the student through the simulated patient. The cost for such an item would be $90,000 - $100,000. The goal would be to provide 20% of the required 1200 hours in the Dietetic Internship through simulation experiences. This would assist greatly in providing the required clinical hours to a greater number of students and would be attractive to potential faculty. Additional equipment and space for research endeavors would assist greatly in recruiting new faculty. Providing start-up funds for research facilities and equipment would be helpful, as

9 well. The projected cost certainly would vary with faculty; a suggested amount would be $50,000 per faculty. COSTS What sources other than the graduate school provide funding for students in the program? How much extramural funding did program faculty acquire annually for the last two years? How many graduate students were supported through grants and contracts in the last two years? How much revenue in gifts and donations has the program raised in the last two years? What portion of those funds are specifically earmarked for graduate student support? What is the average student debt at the time of graduation? What is range of student debt in the last two years? Our program has had no outside funding to support graduate students. Apart from graduate school funding, graduate students are entirely self-supported in this program. During the last two years extramural funding has not been acquired to support graduate students. GRAM awards have been received in , , and No graduate students were supported through grants and contracts in the last two years. The program has not raised revenue in gifts and donations. No gifts and donations were earmarked for graduate student support in the last two years. We do not ask our students what their debt loads are. In anecdotal conversations we learn that most of our students take the maximum allowable student loans. This amounts to about $30,000 per year for two years. DUPLICATION What other institutions in North Carolina offer a similar program? In what significant ways is Appalachian s program unique, distinctive, and different from the others in the state? What is the enrollment in similar programs (same CIP code) at each UNC campus? If your program is markedly smaller than others in the UNC system, what factors limit enrollment? Two other graduate programs in North Carolina offer Master s degrees together with the Dietetic Internship that leads to certification as a Registered Dietitian. These are UNC Chapel Hill and ECU. The combination of the Dietetic Internship with completing the Master s degree is optional at both of these other two universities as opposed to ASU where the internship and degree are combined. In addition, the focus of these two programs differs from the focus at ASU. The Chapel Hill program is different in its national reputation, its MPH degree, its focus on clinical nutrition and public health nutrition. According to the UNC Chapel Hill website, most RD graduates are employed in supervision of public health agencies, not in clinical practice or in rural health. ECU, in the eastern part of the state, is a small program like ours with 10 students admitted per year to complete an MS degree in Nutrition. With the adjacent medical school, the focus of the program at ECU is on clinical nutrition and community nutrition. The

10 graduate program at ASU, also relatively small with 10 new students a year, has the focus of Rural Health, supported by the location of ASU in western North Carolina. At ASU the Dietetic Internship is embedded in the MS in Nutrition. Five other internship programs exist in the state; these internships are not part of a graduate degree program. The accrediting body of the dietetics profession, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is moving over the next few years to require a graduate degree for certification as a Registered Dietitian. This follows other professions such as Speech Therapists. This is a very important development for the profession and will change the entire landscape of dietetic training programs across the country. Internships without graduate programs will be scrambling to develop one and internships with graduate programs, like ours, will be pressed very hard to expand. The program at Appalachian is well situated for this major change in the profession. Nationwide, a major shortage of dietetic internship programs exists, keeping student demand for all North Carolina internship programs, including ASU, high. Accreditation reviewers who visited the ASU program in February 2012 stated, The Rural Health emphasis of this program sets it apart. Only two internship programs in the country have a Rural Health focus. The other one is in Missouri. Rural health is a strong reason for students to apply to the Program. The Nutrition faculty members increasingly are turning their research toward projects in rural health. FUTURE DIRECTIONS What potential for growth does the program have? Cite concrete evidence from external sources and from responses to other items in this review. How can the program s potential be actualized (cite opportunities and barriers)? The ASU Graduate Program in Nutrition program has great potential for growth; in fact, at the current time as many students could be placed in the program as resources could accommodate. This statement is based on the fierce competition for Dietetic Internship placements, the growth in ASU nutrition programs in general, the new requirement of a graduate degree for the RD, and the increasing demand for dietetics professionals in the marketplace. Two major impediments block the growth of the ASU Nutrition program: 1. Lack of field preceptors and supervised practice sites The major impediment to the ASU Dietetic Internship (DI) Program, and to DI programs nationwide, is the lack of adequate field preceptors and supervised practice sites. Field preceptors are dedicated volunteers who donate time and expertise to mentoring students. These professionals are greatly valued by the Graduate Nutrition Program. In a healthcare environment in which do more with less is the rule, many qualified preceptors do not perceive that they can incorporate the supervision of an intern to an already long list of responsibilities. The shortage of preceptors presents a

11 nationwide crisis for the dietetics profession; in any given year, half or less of the total number of qualified dietetics students will be admitted to a dietetic internship program. Large amounts of the DI Director s time are devoted to locating, recruiting, training, and retaining qualified preceptors. This is time that cannot be used in the direct supervision and mentoring of young professionals. Because in most cases recruitment is done on an individual dietitian level rather than on a facility level, placements are subject to the individual dietitian s perception of her or his ability to mentor an intern. Thus, placements planned for a year or more in advance may suddenly fall through because of staffing changes, job changes, family moves, health issues, or an individual simply not wanting to take an intern in a particular year. The problem is compounded by geographic location; Western North Carolina is an area traditionally underserved by Registered Dietitians. Fierce competition for supervised practice sites has been experienced by the ASU program from a new non- UNC dietetic internship which opened two years ago in the Hickory area. This program, with a greater number of interns than ASU, has placed interns at a number of sites with which ASU has had long-term relationships. This has required the ASU program to look much farther afield and compete much more directly for internship sites. The geographic isolation, personal whims, and competitive forces at work make the reliable placing of interns a supreme challenge for the Program. The Founding Dean of the College of Health Sciences and the Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management are well aware of these supervised practice site issues for the Nutrition Program as well as other CHS programs, and have worked tirelessly together with program faculty for the past two years to proactively address the problem. An exciting development which could become a model for the future is an official agreement negotiated between Appalachian and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine physician assistant program. This agreement has led to clinical supervised practice placements for ASU Dietetic interns. The benefit of this arrangement is that the agreement states that placement of students will occur predictably; the arrangement is not dependent upon an individual agreement between an individual internship director at ASU and an individual dietitian at Wake Forest. This arrangement is a commitment by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine to the College of Health Sciences at Appalachian State University to provide these openings. This is the model that we wish to see propagated. This would simplify and stabilize the recruitment of internship sites for the Program. Without this type of agreement, growth of the Nutrition Program will not happen. In addition to working to recruit preceptors, Nutrition faculty are working to develop simulated supervised practice experiences for dietetic interns. Implementation of such simulations would reduce the total number of hours needed in supervised practice sites; the goal is to reduce needed hours by 20%, or a reduction of 240 hours

12 out of 1200 total hours required. Even with full implementation of simulations, however, the need for supervised practice sites still remains. In the future the availability of a high-fidelity simulation lab incorporating the use of a Sim-Man would allow for further reduction of site hours. In order to provide sustained attention to the College of Health Science s need for supervised practice placements for dietetic interns as well as nursing students and other programs, a position is needed promptly at the College level for an internship site coordinator. This person would work to develop long-term facility partnerships for supervised practice opportunities for CHS programs, would serve as an advisor, support person, and resource person for program directors seeking to place students in facilities, and would ensure that best practices are followed in the placement of CHS students in facilities. An internship site coordinator at the College level would also aid in correcting currently existing inefficiencies. For example, each program prepares its own affiliation agreements with student placement sites. This results in a situation in which a single facility could concurrently have three separate contracts with CHS dietetics, nursing, and speech therapy programs. Lack of coordination of facilities causes missed opportunities; for example, perhaps a facility which accepts nursing students would also be willing to accept dietetics students; however, no system currently exists for gathering this information. Supervised practice opportunities are absolutely vital to the College of Health Sciences, and a coordinated, College-level approach to developing long-term institutional partnerships with western North Carolina health care facilities would further enhance the College s growing reputation as the premier health educator in western North Carolina. Dean Whitt has paved the way with the CHS partnership with Wake Forest, which, in addition to benefiting ASU students, will ultimately benefit the people of our region and state. In addition, the presence of strong, defined, long-term partnerships with facilities would allow CHS programs to grow with confidence, as students cannot be accepted into programs without the assurance that they can be placed in facilities for internships. 2. Lack of adequate faculty to supervise graduate students and monitor dietetic interns Another need for an expanded program is additional graduate faculty to supervise graduate student research and decrease the undergraduate student credit hours per faculty, making the load more consistent with recommended levels. Also needed would be additional staff to assist in supervising the internship. With the increased demands as described above, this person could serve either in the department or at the College level.

13 CRITICAL MASS What would be the impact on other departments in the college or other graduate and undergraduate programs in the department if the program were to grow? We anticipate that our current emphasis on Rural Health will attract future faculty and will influence future collaborations around the College. We also anticipate that the addition of more faculty will not only allow growth of the graduate program, but will greatly help alleviate the tremendous pressure on the burgeoning undergraduate program in Dietetics. This may allow the introduction of new concentrations or major at the undergraduate level and new programs at the graduate level. SUMMARY Given documented student and employer demand (if it exists), what could the program be like in 5 years? By 2020? We have documented substantial and sustained student and employer demand for this Program. We have also documented the needs we have to overcome to grow the Program. With substantive support we believe that sustained growth of this program is possible. In 5 years, the Program could be 50% larger, with institutionally supported framework agreements with half a dozen or a dozen cooperating facilities around the western part of the state and with 3-4 more faculty members and administrative support for the internship program. By 2020, the program could be twice as large as it is today.