AARPN statement on recognition of COVID-19 affected bachelor level degree clinical qualifications in Nutrition

1. AARPN considers any movement by educational providers of all theory off campus to online in 2021 to not be part of the COVID-19 2020 phenomena.

2. COVID-19 bought forth major changes to the way learning was delivered, specifically it entailed an increase in online teaching and learning (live streaming, pre-recorded lectures and tutorials). Different associations have dealt with the increases in online delivery in their own ways, the most common being to classify live streaming as face-to-face learning. However, we consider this to be incorrect for the following reasons: 

• online learning is education that takes place over the Internet. Online learning is a form of distance education which is the umbrella term for any learning that takes place across distance and not in a traditional classroom. Distance learning includes correspondence courses, telecourses, courses where the student interacts with static computer content, mobile learning such as by means of a mobile phone, and online learning which utilises the internet and can be offered synchronously [such as live streaming] and/or asynchronously [such as pre-recorded lectures]’  (Joshua Stern, Ph.D. past Educational Consultant to Nobel Laureate Universities. http://www.wlac.edu/ONLINE/documents/otl.pdf
• On campus or on-campus, refers to a physical campus with a concurrent physically present teacher/lecturer, and not a virtual campus, and cannot be the student’s own home or workplace.
• Consistent with TEQSA’s use of the term, ‘face-to-face’ excludes education delivered online. As such, delivery methods such as live streaming which are delivered over the internet do not fall within the definition of ‘face-to-face’.
• Education that takes place over the internet is online regardless of whether it occurs on-campus or elsewhere.

3. During the government mandated COVID-19 campus closures it was necessary to provide concessions to students forced by campus closures to transition from face-to-face based education for theory to online education for theory. The concession took the form of students being able to exclude face-to-face non-clinical practicum subjects transitioned to online education, from the calculation of the 50 percent cap that was in place for online learning/education. This concession was expanded to include all non-clinical practicum subjects taken online for Semester 1 2020 and Trimesters 1 and 2, 2020, after which educational providers returned to campus for Clinical Practicum in all States of Australia except Victoria.

4. It is AARPN’s position, that it is logical that this COVID-19 concession was rendered redundant when government lifted the mandated University campus closures and educational providers returned on-campus for Clinical Practicum, this commencing from July and August 2020. For Victoria, which was in the grip of a second COVID-19 wave that commenced in July 2020, this concession is in place until the end of Semester 2 2020 for semester based educational providers or until the end of Trimester 3 2020 for trimester based educational providers. The Victorian situation will continue to be monitored by AARPN.

5. AARPN gave no concessions for face-to-face on-campus clinical practicum requirements. AARPN membership applicants that have completed a proportion but not all of their clinical practicum in a virtual training environment due to government mandated COVID-19 restrictions of Stage 2 and above, will be assessed on a case by case basis by the AARPN Board. Students from Victorian campuses should not feel discouraged from applying for AARPN membership.

6. The AARPN Certified Practicing Nutritionist (CPN) program is designed to accredit the highest levels of qualification and skills and set a recognisable standard for employers and industry. As such, AARPN does not accept online undergraduate clinical degrees for membership or CPN accreditation.

7. Students that have exceeded the 50 percent cap for online learning/education after AARPN’s COVID-19 concession has been applied, will not be eligible for AARPN membership or for accreditation as a Certified Practicing Nutritionist.

8. AARPN reserves the right to require from applicants, an official transcript/document that clearly shows the percentage of online learning/education present in each subject completed to the nearest 5 percent. This percentage can be calculated based on the proportion of weeks online or the proportion of hours online, whichever is the greater.

9. Any student or recent graduate seeking further clarification of their eligibility for AARPN membership and accreditation as a Certified Practicing Nutritionist (CPN) should email admin@aarpn.com .

10. AARPN is making this statement in response to signals from the educational sector.