The minimum retention grade established by the institution is 2.00 and the student is automatically placed in probation when the grade point average falls to 2.00. A student placed on probation is contacted by the professional counselor to better understand the issues the student may need to resolve in order to improve academic performance. However, the DPD has established a new policy that will apply to students admitted to the Program on or after the Fall semester of 2019. New policy indicates the students must earn a general and concentration grade point average of 3.0 in order to receive a Verification Statement at the end of their coursework. An early detection system, permits identification of students that can benefit from tutoring services and other resources on campus to help them improve their academic performance.
Since the Fall 2016 semester, a peer-mentoring program among first year students and senior DPD students has been implemented. Members of the two student organizations; Círculo de Dietética and Nutrition Journal Club, welcome new students within the first month of classes and each is paired to first year students, exchange contact information, answer questions, concerns or reassure them of their availability to help them integrate to the Program and transition to the University.
Institutional retention strategies available at: http://estudiantes.uprrp.edu/programa-de-reclutamiento-y-retencion-para-el-exito-estudiantil/
Concentration courses (courses with code “NUTR”) and pure science courses must be passed with “C” or better; only one course passed with “C” or better can be repeated once, according to the policies of the College of Natural Sciences. If a course is not approved with “C” or more, students may not continue with the curricular sequence until course is approved with “C” or more.
Professors must let students know their partial grades around the 8th week of class (exact date and time is established by the registrar’s office). The students that decide to drop a course must do so before the 11th week of class. Please refer to the current academic calendar for specific dates on partial withdrawals. Reference: Certification No. 58, 2006-07 academic year, RRP Academic Senate.
Students who receive Vocational Rehabilitation should communicate with the professor at the beginning of the semester in order to plan for reasonable accommodation and/or acquisition of needed special equipment, according to the recommendations of the Office for Persons with Impediments of the Deanship of Student Affairs (Oficina de Asuntos para las Personas con Impedimentos, OAPI, Decanato de Estudiantes; Circular #9, 2002-2003, DAA).
The Program and the University has a strict policy on academic honesty and plagiarism. You are encouraged to access the following document to learn about plagiarism and the university policy regarding this issue.
http://cea.uprrp.edu/deshonestidad-academica-entre-estudiantes-normativa-y-procedimientos-vigentes/
The Program abides to institutional policies on discipline and termination procedures. These are included in the Spanish version of the General Student Handbook and the student Code of Conduct. Sanctions are applied if evidence of: academic dishonesty, intentional damage to institutional property, conduct that may endanger others, impeding entrance to Campus facilities and other situations identified in the code of conduct. The procedure to establish sanctions is described in detail in chapter IV (pages 21-32) of the General Student Handbook.
The norms established by the Institution will be followed; these can be accessed at: http://procuraduria.uprrp.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Reglamento-General-de-Estudiantes-de-la-UPR.pdf
Each student must approve one hundred, thirty-four (134) credit hours in accordance with the approved curricular sequence to obtain the degree.
Minimum GPA:
- General Overall Grade Point Average (to graduate): 3.0 (beginning 2019)
- Major (concentration) Grade Point Average (to graduate): 3.0 (beginning 2019)
At present the minimum GPAs for graduation is 3.0, students compete for Dietetic Internships, many of which have standards of a GPA of 3.0 or higher. In addition, students aspiring to graduate school should have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Program Duration and Time to Degree Completion: The program is designed so that a full-time student may be able to complete the curriculum sequence for a bachelor’s degree in four years, particularly if they enter with Pre-Calculus approved; this may be accomplished through advanced placement testing or summer immersion program prior to the first semester. The goal is for students to complete the Program in a maximum of 150% of the time, or six (6) years; this also corresponds to accreditation benchmarks, as well as the time allotted for financial aid from the U.S. Dept. of Education and the UPR-RP. Although not recommended, the maximum time allowed for a student to complete the degree is ten years. The time to completion for the Nutrition and Dietetics Major Course Components within the bachelor’s degree is approximately 2.5 years or five semesters.
A Verification Statement document that an individual has completed all academic requirements established by an accredited Nutrition and Dietetics Program. This document is required in order for the student to apply for an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship. After completion of a Dietetic Internship, the individual receives another Verification Statement granting eligibility to write the Registered Dietitian Exam (RDN). In 2024, eligibility to take the RDN will also include a master degree. To receive a Verification Statement from the DPD Director, the student must complete the following requirements.
For students admitted prior to Fall 2019 the student must:
- Complete all DPD requirements set forth in the curricular sequence.
- Earn a grade of C or better in all major (concentration; courses with code NUTR) courses. In the curricular sequence, pre-requisite courses must be passed with a minimum grade of “C” in order to continue to the next level; this was approved by the Board of Trustees in 1995. Also, the student will not be allowed to repeat a course with “C” more than once, according to the policies of the College of Natural Sciences.
The Verification Statement is generated as soon as the Registrar’s Office corroborates that all requirements to grant the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics have been met.
For students admitted to the Program in Fall 2019 forward, the requirements to receive a Verification Statement are:
- Complete all DPD requirements set forth in the curricular sequence.
- Earn a general grade point average of 3.0
- Earn a concentration grade point average of 3.0
- The Verification Statement is generated as soon as the Registrar’s Office corroborates that all requirements to grant the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics have been met.
Students must complete a form used internally to document students that will request graduation within a given semester. The DPD assistant begins compiling the list of students that are candidates for graduation from each semester to ensure the following documents are in place: academic evaluation, student plans for applying to internships or graduate studies, need for Declaration of Intent document, unofficial transcript and ultimately certification of the date when the degree is conferred by the Registrar’s Office. Upon confirmation that the student was granted the degree, the Verification Statement is prepared. Students are given the Verification Statement personally and complete an exit interview survey that is used for Program evaluation. A scanned digital copy of the Verification Statements is kept on file.
The UPR-RP institutional policy regarding the application of the Buckley Amendment (2006) to the privacy of students’ academic information is detailed on the following web page of the Registrar’s Office:
http://www.uprrp.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/taller_buckley2006.pdf
Information produced or obtained from students during academic counseling remains confidential within the counseling team, and is safeguarded in a locked file cabinet. If students wish to have access to this information, they should schedule an appointment with their academic counselor, and the information will be provided.