Nutrition and Foods
2022-2023 Program Review

The Nutrition department at American River College offers an academically rich, inclusive environment that inspires critical thinking, learning, and achievement. Students learn to apply evidence-based nutrition principles to improve health and quality of life. The Nutrition Associate Degree for transfer (AS-T) prepares students for transfer into programs such as Dietetics, Community Nutrition, and the Health Sciences. In addition, the department also offers a wide variety of Nutrition courses, which provide many opportunities for students to engage in lifelong learning as well as personal and professional development.

In addition to offering many courses in nutrition and a transfer degree, the ARC Nutrition Department has a Dietary Manager/Dietary Service Supervisor (DM/DSS) Certificate Program which provides certification for employment in nutritional care and dietary management within a healthcare facility, such as a skilled nursing facility. The DM/DSS Program is accredited by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)  Licensing and Certification Program and it is approved by the national Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals (ANFP). With the aging of the population, there is an increased demand for employees to provide health services to senior adults. The DM/DSS Program functions to provide training for those seeking employment in this area. The purpose of this program is to provide a pathway to employment by providing relevant academic coursework and training coupled with practical, clinical experience. This prepares students for employment upon completion of the program.

The Nutrition Department at American River College contributes to the mission of American River College by:

• Offering an associate degree for transfer (AS-T) in Nutrition, a variety of transfer-level courses, and courses that fulfill General Education requirements.

• Collaborating with other areas of study by offering courses that serve as electives in their degrees and certificates. 

• Partnering with local school districts (Natomas and Twin River Unified School Districts), the Nutrition department offers NUTRI 300 through dual-enrollment programs.  These programs provide high school students with the opportunity to complete a college course in an academically supportive environment. Students are typically from underrepresented groups in higher education, or who may become first-generation college graduates. These dual-enrollment programs, such as the California Early College Academy (CECA) at Inderkum High School, prepare students to be college and career ready. 
• Working with community partners in training students to achieve employment or enhance career skills for job advancement, the DM/DSS Certificate Program enables students to be employed in nutritional care and dietary management within healthcare facilities, such as skilled nursing. By providing the most current curriculum,  this certificate program meets the requirements of the CDPH for certification and is also approved by the ANFP.

Based on the recommendations from our last Program Review, our department faculty have been interested in mastering the principles of online education and have been committed to establishing an equitable learning environment for all students. Thus, the faculty have each spent numerous service hours to gain knowledge in education technology advancements; online teaching; effective use of technology for communication and instruction; and, equitable teaching practices. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, our efforts have been focused on creating inclusive learning experiences and creating accessible and affordable content for our students. Some of the workshop topics that our faculty have attended include:

• Accessibility
• Course Accessibility
• Equity Focused (classroom, syllabi, assignments, etc.)
• Community of Practice
• Transforming Assignment
• 3CSN - Making the Invisible Visible: Reading Apprenticeship
• Respect and Equity in Digital Learning Resources
• Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in your Nutrition Course
• Actionable Equity Faculty Professional Development Series
• NUTRI 300 Open Education Resources (OER)
• NUTRI 320/ECE 415 OER
• Online Teaching, Teaching Effectiveness
• ARC Online Education Initiative (OEI)
• ARC Online Teaching Institution (OTI) 
• @ONE Online Webinars
• Effective Teaching Practices - ACUE
• Canvas PlayPosit
• Building Inclusive and Engaging Online Classrooms

In addition to meeting the needs of our faculty,  our department has also focused on meeting the needs of our students by offering classes in a variety of teaching modalities (Table 1): in-person, online asynchronous, online synchronous, hybrid in-person, and hybrid synchronous (fully online-partially synchronous). Our range of teaching modalities, times, and days assure that we are considering all students and their needs.

To mitigate the high cost of textbooks, the ARC library purchased 100 print copies of the NUTRI 300 textbook so students could borrow them for the semester (Fall 2020). They also purchased access to the online textbook so students could use the textbook if they couldn’t come to campus to borrow a printed copy. In the last 24 months, the print books have been borrowed 319 times and the eBook version has been used 1742 times. 

Over the last six years, our primary objectives and goals for the DM/DSS Certificate Program involved finding a full time coordinator and increasing enrollment. Since our last program review, the department has secured a stipend for a full time faculty member who meets the qualifications for coordinating and teaching coursework within the DM/DSS program. This faculty member has taken on the coordinator role and will serve as the point of contact for students and community partners in the program. 

During 2018 and 2019, despite efforts to advertise the DM/DSS Program, enrollment in classes dropped annually. This may have been due to competing programs that offer fully online classes or programs with fewer requirements. Since our program was accredited by the state of California, we were unable to significantly change the curriculum and maintain that accreditation. Then, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from placing students in their clinical rotation sites, which mostly consisted of nursing homes and long term care facilities. Facilities were not taking students during this time and without these sites, students could not complete the clinical experience hours necessary to complete the DM/DSS Program. Falling enrollments, along with budget cuts during the pandemic, the DM/DSS Program classes were canceled and the program was temporarily put on pause.

The Department of Nutrition continues to drive productivity in the Health & Education Area. Our productivity increased by 15%, from Fall 2017 to Fall 2020 (517.36 to 594.84); and by 8%, from Spring 2018 to Spring 2020 (509.74 to 553.03). However, the COVID pandemic had a significant impact on enrollment in our courses, leading to decreases in productivity of 20.5% from Fall 2021 over Fall 2020 and a 23.5% decrease from Spring 2022 over Spring 2021. 

Since the 2016-2017 academic year, 22 DM/DSS certificates and 24 AS-T degrees in Nutrition have been awarded. Out of the 24 AS-T degrees, 19 students completed the CSU degree pattern and 5 students chose the IGETC pattern.

The Department met its Department Set Standards and the SLO assessment indicates that most students achieve the course SLOs. When we looked at success rates by teaching modality, we saw that since going remote in Spring 2020, our highest was in our in-person classes (93%) as compared to online (62 - 79%). See table 2 below.  A few of our faculty are participating in ongoing training for online teaching to hopefully narrow the gap in success rates. With a majority of students taking our classes online, we must work to be more effective in retaining students and assisting with their success.

The disproportionate impact for course success rates and drop rates continue to be a challenge in African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Pacific Islander students and is something that we are dedicated to addressing. Our main course is NUTRI 300, which comprises ~70% of our course offerings. The average course success rate for NUTRI 300 is 73.8%. However, the course success rate in African American students is 62.9%, in Hispanic/Latinx students it is 66.9% and in Pacific Islanders it’s 63.5%. Groups with no disproportionate impact (DI) include Asians (82.9%), Filipinos (80.9%), Native Americans (82.4%), and Whites (78.4%). In groups where we see disproportionate impact, there is no significant difference in the success rates of males compared to females. The highest drop rates in our NUTRI 300 course are in the African American (22%) and Hispanic/Latinx (18.4%) students. Closing the equity gap is a frequent topic of discussion among our faculty and we are constantly seeking ways of improving our courses to meet students’ needs. In addition to increasing the variety of course modalities, a few faculty members will be participating in professional development programs that address being culturally responsive and designing assignments to be more inclusive. 

The Nutrition Department is successful in collaborating with many other departments on campus. We work closely with Gerontology, Early Childhood Education, Kinesiology, and the Honors Program. We also work closely with other programs and outreach centers.  With dual enrollment programs in high demand, we have partnered with Inderkum High School to offer three sections of our NUTRI 300 course. We also work with Inderkum High School and the Natomas Center with their California Early College Academy (CECA).

We have been committed to meeting students’ needs in many ways. Aside from working with departments on campus and local high schools, we are also looking at course offerings and schedules to make sure we have the classes at the times and in the modalities that students want.  We offer morning, afternoon, and evening classes; in-person classes on campus and at the Natomas Center; classes online, synchronous/asynchronous, and hybrid. And soon we may also have Sync-Flex classes.  Our students tell us they want more in-person classes, our administrators are encouraging more in-person offerings, yet the enrollment numbers are very low for the in-person classes that we do offer. This has been a real challenge. We are working with the area dean to allow low-enrollment classes remain so that those students who are interested in in-person classes will have options. 

So many of our students at ARC struggle financially and are stressed by the increasing cost of books. In 2022, three of our faculty received grants or reassigned time to develop an Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook for the primary class that we offer (NUTRI 300) and another class (NUTRI 320). We did this specifically to address the hardships that are experienced due to the cost of education. The OERs were first available to students during Fall 2022 and the response has been positive. We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of the OERs in terms of student success and student satisfaction and will expand their use in other class sections.

Since the DM/DSS Certificate Program was put on pause in 2020, no new enrollment has occurred. However, with a full-time faculty member taking on the responsibility of coordinator for the program, a considerable amount of effort has been put into enhancing the program and preparing the program to start up again. The program was recently approved by ANFP. ANFP approval means that students who complete the program can sit for the national Dietary Manager Credentialing Exam. Passing the exam allows students to gain the title of Certified Dietary Manager, which is accepted nationwide. Students will also be able to join the ANFP professional organization, which provides updates in the field, continuing education, and networking/career opportunities. 

A strength of the DM/DSS Program is our connections within the community. Many of the adjunct faculty teaching in the program have connections with local facilities and have helped us develop partnerships with them for our students to complete their clinical experience. Additionally, we have a strong advisory board who are committed to helping us advertise our program in the community.

One challenge for our DM/DSS Program is low enrollment. Due to the nature of the certificate and job opportunity, we cannot feasibly enroll a large number of students and expect them to find employment in the area. Most facilities hire just one dietary manager, and there are a limited number of facilities to begin with. When classes are low-enrolled, the campus wants to cancel the class. Being able to justify our low enrollment and keep classes on the schedule continues to be a challenge. To address this, faculty make an effort to build strong relationships with the area dean and administration and advocate for our program. At the same time, we are continuing our advertising and recruitment efforts to increase enrollment in the program.

Another challenge for the DM/DSS Program is having FTE for reassigned time for faculty to coordinate the program. It takes a considerable amount of time and effort working with students, adjunct faculty, and community partners to make this program a success. It is near impossible to expect a full-time faculty to do this work without compensation. We have managed to secure a small stipend for the last 2 years; however, this amount is not guaranteed each year. We will be working with the area dean and other administrators to get a budget for a program coordinator.

The pandemic had a significant effect on our enrollments and productivity; however, it increased our understanding of the many barriers that our students face in achieving their educational goals. In order to address some of the challenges that our DI students face, the Department has implemented some of the recommendations from ARC’s DI Reports and will continue to seek ways to improve our department’s effectiveness:

• Faculty increase students’ awareness and accessibility to academic and basic needs resources. We encourage students to take the Science Success Center, Reading Across the Curriculum (RAD), Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) courses to improve their study skills. In addition, we promote events throughout the college to help foster a sense of community in our students. This includes events hosted by the Career Center, Transfer Center, as well as produce distributions offered by the Beaver Cares Center.
• One of our faculty members is a faculty liaison with the PUENTE Project and the goal is to form similar partnerships with other Learning Communities, including the Umoja-Sakhu Learning Community and The Native American Resource Center. We will explore the feasibility of offering cohort-based courses for students in these programs, with the hope that as students feel supported and more connected to the college, that we will see an improvement in success rates.
• The Nutrition Department has collaborated with the ARC Library to provide free access to our textbook in print and online formats. We have also created accessible OER textbooks for both NUTRI 300 and NUTRI 320 that we have been testing out in several  sections. 
• Based on the DI student survey results, students want to see themselves represented in the faculty and staff, as well as in the curriculum. Therefore, the OER textbooks that the department has developed are culturally relevant and also reflect our nontraditional student population. In addition, these will be updated as needed to include current topics and to address health and food inequities. 
• We will also try to increase the diversity of our adjunct faculty pool to better reflect the diversity in ARC’s student population. Due to our close proximity to Sacramento State and UC Davis, many of our adjunct faculty are graduates and/or adjunct faculty in these programs. We will look for alternate ways to advertise our positions to hopefully attract a wider diversity of candidates. 
• Prior to the pandemic, several of our faculty had recruited Beacon Tutors for NUTRI 300. As we transition to more in-person classes, an additional goal is to recruit peer tutors of color that can help support our DI students.

Having to cancel our DM/DSS Certificate Program classes in 2020 meant fewer types of classes offered in our department. This limited the options available to students who may have wished to explore career opportunities in nutrition. From this analysis, we learned that our previous advertising efforts were unsuccessful in attracting students to the program. Moreover, the lack of a full-time faculty coordinator meant that there was minimal time to dedicate to an advertising plan and other program enhancements. These results will inform how we move forward with the program. They also reinforce the need for FTE for reassigned time for a program coordinator.

Now that the DM/DSS Program is approved by ANFP, students will have the opportunity to earn a nationally accepted certificate which allows them more flexibility in where they can apply to jobs. In addition, we plan to advertise more broadly in the community through a variety of ways, including in-person visits to facilities, partnerships with healthcare companies,  throughout all Los Rios campuses, local recruitment agencies, and through our advisory board members’ connections. To improve enrollments, the department plans to be more flexible in course offerings and modalities. Offering more classes in the evening for working students, or online, or in a hybrid modality, may attract more students to the program.

Beginning Fall 2022,  our primary classroom Arts & Science Room 103 was re-configured as a Sync-Flex classroom. As a result, there are now two monitors mounted in the front of the room, with a main infinity screen in the middle (3 screens in front). In the back of the room are two additional screens. There is an adjustable podium for the instructor with two monitors to work from. All whiteboards have been removed from the front of the classroom and one installed on the side wall. 

Nutrition faculty are exploring different ways to use this new technology and adapt our pedagogy/andragogy. Since its installation, our department faculty teaching in that room have provided flexibility for students who may be ill, or otherwise unable to come to campus, by allowing them to attend lectures via Zoom. The addition of this technology has helped to minimize student anxiety over missing class and has kept possibly sick students out of the classroom. 

With the Sync-Flex room, and more students coming back to campus, the department would like to explore the feasibility of offering our most popular course, NUTRI 300, as a Sync-Flex course, teaching a group of students in the classroom and another group on Zoom simultaneously. We believe that this would help us increase student enrollment and provide another option for students who may not be able to attend class on campus every day.

The faculty member who has been coordinating the DM/DSS Certificate Program has been working tirelessly to be able to restart it.  Ideally, we will be able to offer the DM/DSS courses starting in Fall 2023 and hope to successfully recruit students to join the program. We plan to build up a cohort of at least 10 students. This is in line with ARC’s mission of offering academically rich programs that assist students in achieving career goals and responsible participation in the community. 

Under the proposed CalGETC requirements, the Lifelong Learning and Self-Development area that currently exists on the CSU General Educational (GE) pattern will be removed. This would mean that our main course, NUTRI 300, would no longer meet the GE requirement, which will lead to a decrease in enrollment. Furthermore, NUTRI 300 may not be a viable option for dual enrollment students either. 

Nutrition courses offered by Cypress College and Foothill College articulate to the Biological Sciences GE area under IGETC. Therefore, the priority for our department will be to articulate our own NUTRI 300 course to this GE area. Success will be measured by approval of our course to meet the science GE requirement. Once the new CalGETC guidelines go into effect, NUTRI 300 will continue to be an option for students to meet their GE goals. Since the proposed CalGETC guidelines include a 1-unit laboratory course, we will investigate the feasibility of creating an Experimental Nutrition laboratory course that can be paired with NUTRI 300 to meet the science GE requirement. Offering a lab-based course could potentially generate more interest in a career in Nutrition or Dietetics.

In addition, we will work on updating the NUTRI 302 curriculum to provide another option for students to meet their science GE requirement, especially those interested in athletics, as the NUTRI 302 course is designed to discuss the nutritional needs of athletes.

All Early Childhood Education (ECE) Programs in the state are going through the California Early Childhood Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP). Each of the core courses is required to be aligned to the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs) adopted by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to ensure consistency in the curriculum. We will collaborate with the ECE department to ensure that our NUTRI 320/ECE 415 course meets these criteria. As with NUTRI 300, success will be determined by approval of the course outline. 

In consultation with the ARC Articulation Officer, we will be updating our AS-T. Requirements for a Nutrition degree vary at different CSUs. As a result, we are taking a closer look at the electives within our AS-T. The goal is to inform and provide transfer students with the courses required at their CSU of interest to ensure a smooth transfer process. 

We would like to continue offering our NUTRI 300 course for dual enrollment students. We have three sections of classes this semester and are open to increasing  that as demand increases. 

As we add dual enrollment sections and often have faculty with reassigned time for other projects, our need for adjunct faculty fluctuates. Since the pandemic, our adjunct pool has diminished. We will actively recruit, interview, and hire a few more adjuncts to be able to respond to changes in need. 

With the DM/DSS Program resuming in Fall 2023, we will need to recruit students to keep enrollment in the classes. We plan to increase advertising efforts and provide more flexibility in course offerings. Advertising materials are currently being updated and we will work with our program’s advisory board and faculty members to form partnerships with local healthcare facilities and companies, recruitment agencies, other departments on campus, and ANFP to advertise our program. To provide more flexibility in courses, we plan to offer courses at times that are most convenient to the students, such as evenings and weekends, as well as offer more modalities, such as online or hybrid classes. This will hopefully make it easier for students to enroll in the program. Success will be measured by enrollment and certificate completion, with the goal of at least 10 students enrolled in Fall 2023.

The faculty in the Nutrition department come from diverse backgrounds and are committed to social justice and equity. This is evidenced by the wide range of professional development activities that all have participated in. We are committed to our students and work to remove barriers to education for all students but especially those from disproportionately underrepresented groups. In order to increase access to education, we are working with high school students in dual enrollment to give them the start to a college education; we are helping to reduce the price of college by having created an OER for two of our classes; and, we are addressing students’ scheduling needs by offering classes in all teaching modalities, at different times of day, and year-round. We are striving to meet students where they are.  

Within our OER and in our classroom, we strive to use examples that are inclusive and that all students can find a connection to. Whether we are talking about food patterns, nutrient intake, chronic disease risk,  or body sizes, we use language that upholds the dignity and humanity of every student.

Our faculty regularly give presentations to groups within the community and at ARC on diet and health. We have worked with school districts, high schools, and ARC student groups to help people work within a budget and make better food choices. Food security is a basic need and lack of food is a barrier to learning. A couple of our faculty members work very closely with Beaver Cares Basic Needs Center in their food distribution and their Nutrition Education Series. 

The improvements to the DM/DSS Program will increase access to the program for all students. Offering multiple teaching modalities and courses in the late afternoon or evening, we may be able to reach students who might otherwise be unable to participate. We will provide course materials that students can access for free in the library to reduce their program cost. Adjunct faculty will have opportunities for equity training through ARC so that they are better prepared to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students. Because our program works mostly with long term care facilities, students will be able to learn about and experience the humanity and dignity of these aging populations through their clinical rotations. From this, they will hopefully gain an understanding and appreciation for the needs of this population and carry that with them as they move into their careers within our community.