1 of 7 April 21, 2016 To: Sarah Mangelsdorf, Provost William Karpus, Dean of the Graduate School From: Kathryn VandenBosch Dean and Director Subject: Notice of Intent: Master of Science Clinical Nutrition On March 18, 2016, the CALS Academic Planning Council voted unanimously to approve the department of Nutritional Sciences Notice of Intent to create a Master of Science Clinical Nutrition. We understand this motion requires action by GFEC and the UAPC and ask that it be placed on their agendas at the earliest possible time. Please feel free to contact me or Associate Dean Pfatteicher if you have any questions. cc: Dick Straub, Senior Associate Dean, CALS Sarah Pfatteicher, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, CALS Nikki Bollig, Assistant Dean for Academic Programs and Policies, CALS Dave Eide, Nutritional Sciences Department Chair Lynette Karls, Nutritional Sciences Jocelyn Milner, Associate Provost and Director, Academic Planning and Analysis Marty Gustafson, Assistant Dean, Graduate School
NOTICE OF INTENT UAPC Doc 2016.05.19.08 2 of 7 NAME OF DEGREE: INSTITUTIONAL SETTING: MODE OF DELIVERY: Master of Science - Clinical Nutrition (M.S. - Clinical Nutrition) UW-Madison On-Line OVERVIEW UW-Madison proposes the development of a 30 credit, on-line, non-pooled M.S. - Clinical Nutrition degree. The Department of Nutritional Sciences (DNS), housed within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), would be the sponsoring unit responsible for student progress, governance, and resources that support the program. INSTITUTIONAL FIT The M.S. - Clinical Nutrition degree is consistent with the university s mission and explicitly connected to goals 1 (offer broad and balanced academic programs; emphasize high quality and creative instruction), and 2 (achieve leadership in each discipline; provide a foundation for dealing with the immediate and long-range needs of society). As an on-line program, it will attract high quality and diverse students nationally. The mission of the DNS is to generate and disseminate knowledge regarding diet and nutrition to improve the health and economic development of current and future generations and to foster an educated society. We do this through our combined efforts in undergraduate and graduate education, research, and extension. The M.S. - Clinical Nutrition degree will take advantage of DNS expertise in biochemical, metabolic and clinical nutrition to train nutrition professionals for current and future practice roles. The DNS currently offers traditional M.S. and Ph.D. programs that require students be in residence on the UW- Madison campus, and a successful on-line post-baccalaureate Capstone Certificate in Clinical Nutrition (available with and without a Dietetic Internship component). The M.S. Clinical Nutrition degree program will build upon the courses in the capstone certificate. All courses in the capstone program are graduate-level courses and credits (12 cr.) will transfer to the M.S. Clinical Nutrition degree program. The DNS also has a combined program titled: The Capstone Certificate in Clinical Nutrition Dietetic Internship. Students enrolled in this program would be able to transfer 14 credits to the M.S. Clinical Nutrition degree. PROGRAM NEED The recognized food and nutrition professional in the U.S. is the Registered Dietitian (RD). The current pathway to become a RD involves the following steps: 1) B.S. Degree, 2) Completion of an accredited supervised practice program (i.e. Dietetic Internship), and 3) Pass a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. Beginning in 2024, the requirements to be eligible to take the Registration Exam for Dietitians will increase to the completion of a Master s Degree. The healthcare system has changed much over recent years and health professionals are treating sicker and more complicated patients in the hospital setting. The expansion of knowledge and need for both deeper and wider expertise has affected all health care professions in the last decade. As a result, virtually all other health professional education programs have increased their educational standards beyond the bachelor s degree to require postbaccalaureate level coursework (Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, for example). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that employment of dietitians will increase 21% from 2012-22, faster than average (11%) for all occupations. According to the June 2012 Healthcare: Executive Summary released by Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce, Healthcare will continue to grow fastest and provide some of the best paying jobs in the nation but the people in these jobs will increasingly require higher levels of education to enter the field and continuous certification once they are in. To the university s knowledge there are no programs like this in the UW System or state of Wisconsin. There are 4 undergraduate accredited programs in dietetics at UW-Madison, UW-Green Bay, UW-Stout, and UW-Steven s Point. Mt. Mary University and Viterbo University offer Coordinated Undergraduate programs (combine the Dietetic
3 of 7 Internship and undergraduate education). UW-Stout offers a Master s Degree in Food and Nutritional Sciences with options in Human Nutrition or Food Science and Technology. UW-Stevens Point offers graduate study leading to a Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences with a concentration in Community Nutrition. Mt. Mary University offers a Master s Degree in Dietetics with a few hybrid courses available. These programs do not offer the advanced expertise in biochemical, metabolic and clinical nutrition and are not available on-line. In addition to the requirement for a master s degree, dietetics programs will be moving toward a more seamless education model i.e. all Dietetic Internships in the United States will be required to partner with an institution offering a master s degree in the field (rather than having separate programs). Currently, there are 252 Dietetic Internships in the US with approximately 3,000 slots for students. By developing the on-line Master of Science Clinical Nutrition degree program, UW-Madison will be at the forefront in the field and in a position to offer the degree to Dietetic Internships throughout the country. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The program will build upon the 4 Advanced Clinical Nutrition graduate-level on-line courses developed for the Capstone Certificate in Clinical Nutrition: NS 650 Critical Care and Nutrition Support, NS 651 Advanced Pediatrics, NS 652 Nutrition Counseling and Education, and NS 653 Clinical Nutrition Research. These courses provide the basis for the expertise in the clinical nutrition area. In addition, 13 credits of core courses covering advanced principles in human energy metabolism, micronutrients in human physiology and disease, nutrigenomics, advanced nutrition assessment, nutrition informatics, advanced community nutrition, and professional skills would be included to provide graduate level expertise in human, clinical and community nutrition. In addition, students would be required to complete 5 credits of advanced level electives to round out their graduate degree. RESOURCES The DNS will seek approval from the UW-Madison Budget Office for this program to operate on a non-pooled tuition model. Development funds will be provided by the Division of Continuing Studies (DCS) and revenue received from the Capstone Certificate in Clinical Nutrition program. Tuition revenue generated by this program will be used to support the program, and to enhance and strengthen the core mission of the DNS by expanding access to graduate level training. The planned enrollment of 55 students would generate an estimated $1.2 M per year in paid tuition, which would support core instructional costs (roughly $575,000 per year), student services (roughly $125,000 per year), and overhead fees (roughly $200,000 per year), leaving roughly $300,000 per year in revenue to be shared between the department and the college. PROGRAM FACULTY Key faculty and staff in the DNS who will be involved in the program are: David Eide, PhD, Professor and Chair, DNS; Susan Smith, PhD, Professor, DNS; Richard Eisenstein, Ph.D. Professor, DNS; Eric Yen, PhD, Associate Professor, DNS; Lynette M. Karls, MS, RD, CD, Distinguished Faculty Associate, DNS; Julie Thurlow, Dr.PH, RD, Faculty Associate, DNS; Michelle Johnson, MS, RD, CD, Lecturer, DNS. LETTERS OF SUPPORT Letters of support are attached and have been obtained from: David Eide, PhD, Professor and Chair, DNS; Megan Waltz, MS, RD, CD, CSO, Director of Culinary and Clinical Nutrition Services and the Dietetic Internship Program (UWHC) and Sue Rees, DNP, RN, CPHQ, CENP, Vice President, Associate Chief Nursing Officer, (UWHC); Christine Nicometo, M.S., Program Director, Engineering Professional Development; and Barbara Duerst, M.S., R.N., Faculty Associate, School of Medicine and Public Health. March 8, 2016
4 of 7 Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 1415 Linden Drive Madison, WI 53706 PHONE (608) 263-1613 FAX (608) 262-5860 Eide@nutrisci.wisc.edu January 8, 2016 Dear colleagues, As chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences, I am writing this letter in very strong support of the Authorization Proposal for the Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition degree program. This proposal builds beautifully on existing strengths within the Department of Nutritional Sciences and meets an increasing demand for nutrition practitioners with expanded knowledge and skills in clinical nutrition. For 25 years, our department has provided the BS degree in Dietetics. This foundational degree, plus a dietetic internship and successful completion of a national registration examination, has been the pathway to certification as a Registered Dietitian, the recognized credential for food and nutrition professionals. Our graduates have been very successful in achieving RD status and we have a nationwide reputation for the high quality of education that we provide. This existing pathway will change in 2024 when the requirements to be eligible to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians will include the completion of a Master s degree rather then a BS degree. As a strategic response to this arising need, the Department of Nutritional Sciences is proposing to establish the MS in Clinical Nutrition. All Dietetic Internship programs in the country (~250 total with ~3000 intern positions) will be required to partner with an institution offering an MS degree. Thus, the curriculum will be offered online to allow for access both on campus and with partner institutions across the US. By developing this program now, UW-Madison will be in the vanguard of the field and in a position to offer an MS degree program to internship programs throughout the US. This proposal has the full and enthusiastic support of the department because we see it as a necessary component of our educational mission. The program builds on our excellent reputation in training students in dietetics. Moreover, it meets the needs of a large pool of potential students while maintaining the high quality of the educational experience. Finally, it builds well on our successful Capstone Certificate in Clinical Nutrition. Our projected student numbers, in which we anticipate growing to 53 enrolled students after 5 years, is a conservative estimate and we are confident that the program can continue to grow in student numbers beyond that initial goal. Thus, it is anticipated that the program will generate new revenue and expand the instructional mission of the department to meet a new cohort of students. Thank you for considering this exciting program opportunity. Sincerely yours, David Eide, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences Billing-Bascom Professor of Nutrition
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6 of 7 Master of Public Health Program Department of Population Health Sciences February 3, 2016 David Eide, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison 1415 Linden Drive Madison, WI 53706 Dear Dr. Eide, We are writing this letter to provide very strong support of the Authorization Proposal for the Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition degree program. This proposal builds upon the strengths of the Department of Nutritional Sciences and meets the demand for providing education in an accessible and novel way. The proposed distancebased degree program begins to address a future educational need as the pathway to becoming a Registered Dietitian changes in 2024, when the requirements to be eligible to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians will change from completing a BS degree to completing a Master s degree instead. We are excited about the prospect of working with the Department personnel to deliver some of the elective courses for the new MS in Clinical Nutrition degree Program. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Public Health Program in the Department of Population Health Sciences in the School of Medicine and Public Health collaborated with the Division of Continuing Studies to develop and deliver an on-line Capstone Certificate in Leadership for Population Health Improvement beginning 2013-14. We welcome the opportunity to have MS Clinical Nutrition students participate in some of our courses including Principles and Practice of Public Health, Health Systems, Management and Policy, Politics of Health Policy, and Principles of Environmental Health: A Systems Thinking Approach. We believe that all of these courses will enhance the educational endeavors of your students and will support the paradigm to provide interprofessional education to strengthen future clinical practice. As the Director and the Coordinator for the Capstone Certificate for Leadership for Population Health Improvement, we lend our full and enthusiastic support of this proposal. We look forward to our collaboration with the Department of Nutritional Science. We anticipate that the program will generate new revenue and expand the instructional mission of our Capstone Certificate to meet the needs of future health care practitioners and dietitians. Thank you for this opportunity. Sincerely, Thomas R. Oliver, PhD, MHA Professor Director, Capstone Certificate in Leadership for Population Health Improvement Barbara L. Duerst, RN, MS Director, Public Health Education and Training Department of Population Health Sciences Coordinator, Capstone Certificate in Leadership for Population Health Improvement
7 of 7 January 20, 2016 Dear Colleagues, As the Director of the Professional Literacies course suite in the Department of Engineering Professional Development, I wish to support the authorization of the proposal for the Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition put forth by the Department of Nutritional Sciences. This support is based on the strong foundation the department has built in the field of Dietetics and the high level of support and engagement it has with its graduates and affiliated practitioners. The proposal is a strategic answer to the practical need for an additional graduate credential for the nation s practicing nutritional specialists and registered dietitians. By providing an online pathway to reach practitioners, the program is actively engaging in the Wisconsin Idea by extending critical access to knowledge and research beyond the physical boundaries of our institution. The Professional Literacies courses included as part of the program curriculum also demonstrate the program s commitment to educating not only subject matter experts, but well rounded professionals who are equipped to lead in this growing field. Please accept my support for this important program. Sincerely, Christine Nicometo Christine Nicometo, M.S. Program Director Department of Engineering Professional Development Department of Engineering Professional Development University of Wisconsin-Madison 432 North Lake Street Madison, WI 53706 608/890-0800 E-mail: nicometo@ wisc.edu www.epd.wisc.edu