Policy Name: 2-10 Assessing Academic & Practical Training Requirements
Established:
Reviewed:
Revised: March 23, 2012, May 4, 2012, March 2014, November 2014, June 2016, June 1, 2018, March 16, 2020, October 4, 2021, May 29, 2023
Policy Statement
The College’s Registration Requirements for academic and practical training are set out in subsection 6(1) of the General Regulation, PART I - Registration under the Dietetics Act, 1991. Where there is doubt that the non-exemptible requirements are met, a panel of the Registration Committee will assess the applicant’s academic and practical training qualifications for substantial equivalence to the Canadian national accreditation standards as articulated in the Integrated Competencies for Dietetic Education and Practice (ICDEP). Substantial differences in academic and practical training are those that would impede safe and effective dietetic practise in Ontario.
Procedure
To assess the equivalency of the applicant’s academic and practical training qualifications, the panel will ordinarily consider the following:
1.0 Academic Equivalence
a) Level of Study
The applicant’s academic study must, at minimum, be equivalent to a bachelor’s level in Canada. An applicant will be refused if their education is not deemed to be equivalent in level to at least a Canadian bachelor’s degree.
For education completed within Canada, the panel will consider completed undergraduate and graduate level courses, which were taken at a university or college with degree-granting authority within Canada. The courses must have been completed within a degree-granting program (e.g., bachelor, master, or PhD level). Courses at the diploma, certificate, or continuing education program level may not be included. Courses completed in Quebec at a CEGEP or pre-university College will be considered. This includes transfer credits, and credits which were awarded through a prior learning assessment and recognition process.
b) Education Completed Outside Canada
Unless exempted under this policy, applicants whose education was completed outside of Canada must submit a Course-By-Course evaluation from World Education Services (WES) Canada, which will provide information about the equivalence of the study level (e.g., equivalent to high school, college, university undergraduate, or graduate level study).
Applicants who completed education in the United States (US) are not required to submit a WES assessment if the degree was from a university with Regional Accreditation. Education from US universities without Regional Accreditation must be assessed by WES Canada.
If an applicant submits an assessment from WES US, College staff will contact WES Canada to confirm whether the assessment aligns with WES Canada’s standards. If WES Canada identifies that the WES US assessment does not reflect WES Canada’s standards, the applicant will be required to submit an assessment from WES Canada.
If the applicant has been granted admission to a recognized Canadian or US graduate program for which a bachelor’s degree is among the admission requirements, the level of the degree will be considered equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in Canada, and the applicant will not be required to have the level of their degree assessed by WES Canada.
c) Academic Content
The panel will consider the content of all courses confirmed to be at a minimum bachelor’s level against the Canadian national academic entry-to-practice standards as articulated in the ‘Knows’ and ‘Knows How’ Performance Indicators Assessment Requirements of the ICDEP. The panel will use its best judgement in determining whether the required academic content has been addressed.
2.0 Review of Practical Training Equivalence
a)A program deemed equivalent to an accredited practical training program in Canada will:
i. include a formal/structured program with an evaluation component,
ii.be supervised by qualified individuals,
iii.include competency-based outcomes comparable to those in the Canadian national practicum entry-to-practice standards as outlined in the ‘Shows How’ and ‘Does’ Performance Indicator Assessment requirements of the ICDEP,
iv.cover the core areas of Canadian dietetic practice (Nutrition Care, Population Health Promotion, Management and Leadership, and Food Provision), and
v.be a minimum of at least 1250 hours in length.
b)The applicant will ordinarily be refused and directed to complete additional practical training, as outlined in subparagraph 6(1)1.ii. of the General Regulation, PART I - Registration, in order to be admitted in a subsequent application if:
i.the applicant has completed no practical training,
ii.there is no evidence of a formal structured program (e.g., formal evaluation, based on competencies or learning in outcomes, evaluated by qualified individuals),
iii.the competencies or learning outcomes of the practical training are not comparable to the Canadian national practicum entry-to-practice standards as outlined in the ICDEP, and/or
iv.the practical training was less than 1250 hours in length.
3.0 Former Registrants of the College
If an applicant was a former registrant of the College and, at the time of their original application to the College, their academic and/or practicum programs were assessed to be equivalent to an accredited program, the applicant will be deemed to meet the current academic and practical training requirements, even if the accreditation standards and entry-to-practice standards have changed since the time of the applicant’s original application to the College. If an applicant graduated more than three years ago, or hasn’t practised dietetics for a minimum of 500 hours over the preceding three years while being licensed with a dietetic regulatory body prior to the date of their application to the College, they will be subject to the requirements of Policy 3-30: Assessing Currency for Applicants.
4.0 Human Rights Issues
Where the application of this policy would have a disproportionate effect on an applicant, such that accommodation may be required under the Human Rights Code, the Registrar will bring the issue, usually with legal advice, to the panel for consideration.
5.0 Relevant Information
The panel will consider all relevant, objective evidence when assessing an applicant’s academic and/or practical training. This may include the outcome of the College’s Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) process, comprising the Knowledge and Competence Assessment Tool (KCAT) and/or the Performance Based Assessment (PBA) results, if available.