NFSC Bachelor of Science Program Mission and Goals

BS in Nutrition and Food Sciences Program Mission

The mission of the BS program in Nutrition and Food Sciences is to educate students in the areas of food science, nutrition, and foodservice management. The BS degree will prepare students to apply their knowledge and skills for careers that require a Registered Dietitian (RD) credential, other nutrition-related careers, and careers in foodservice administration. Courses in the option in General Dietetics meet the requirements of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) for an accredited Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). Website: (http://www.eatright.org/cade/).

The goals of the BS program in Nutrition and Food Sciences are to:

• provide pre-professional, practical training opportunities that benefit the students while serving the diverse Northern California community.
• graduate diverse, competent, entry-level practitioners who obtain employment in dietetics, foodservice administration, nutrition education, food and nutrition communication or related fields.
• use program resources in a sustainable manner while providing a quality educational experience.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a B.S. in Nutrition and Food Sciences will:

• have knowledge of scientific and evidence base of practice: integration of scientific information and research into practice.  Students are able to demonstrate how to locate, interpret, evaluate and use professional literature to make ethical evidence-based practice decisions.
• have knowledge of professional practice expectations: beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors for the professional level of practice.  Students are able to 1) demonstrate effective and professional oral and written communication and documentation and use of current information technologies when communicating with individuals, groups and the public; 2) demonstrate assertiveness, advocacy and negotiation skills appropriate to the situation; 3) demonstrate counseling techniques to facilitate behavior change; 4) demonstrate professional behaviors in their externship placement; and 5) for dietetics and foodservice administration majors: locate, understand and apply established guidelines to a professional practice scenario and identify and describe the roles of others with whom the dietitian or foodservice manager collaborates in the delivery of food and nutrition services.
• be able to 1) apply knowledge of the role of environment, food and lifestyle choices to develop interventions to affect change and enhance wellness in diverse individuals and groups; 2) develop an educational session or program/educational strategy for a target population and 3) for dietetics majors: use the nutrition care process to make decisions, to identify nutrition-related problems and determine and evaluate nutrition interventions, including medical nutrition therapy, disease prevention and health promotion.
• have knowledge of the strategic application of principles of management and systems in the provision of services to individuals and organizations.  Students are able to 1) apply management and business theories and principles to the development, marketing and delivery of programs or services; 2) apply the principles of human resource management to different situations; 3) apply safety principles related to food, personnel and consumers; 4)  explain the impact of a food, foodservice, nutrition or dietetics related policy position; and 5) for dietetics and foodservice administration majors: to determine costs of services or operations prepare a budget and interpret financial data and explain the impact of health care policy and administration, different health care delivery systems and current reimbursement issues, policies and regulations on food and nutrition services.