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From:	Mark Rifkin (rifkin.vegsource.com)
Subject:	Re: Quality of education
Date:	June 7, 2007 at 1:47 pm PST

In Reply to: Quality of education posted by Erika on June 6, 2007 at 9:13 pm:

Erika,

Thanks for your very thoughtful question. I'm not familiar with most colleges (other than some of the local programs here in the Mid-Atlantic region). There are are no clear sources of information about nutrition program quality, although there are several ways to get relevant information that might, together, provide a complete answer.

First, talk with the faculty to get a sense of philosophy, research interests, flexibility, personalities, etc. (in addition to program requirements). Ask to sit in on a few classes. Talk with any program students you can find. Program alumni would also be an excellent source of info, if you can get a list from an impartial source.

Second, review the "Best Colleges" guides from sources like Time, Newsweek, etc. Top-notch colleges are more likely to have top-notch programs.

Third, go to the NIH website at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (Pubmed/Medline) which is the most comprehensive research article database. But, instead of researching a topic, conduct a search of a school's name (such as University of Maryland). All articles published by the school's faculty will come up, and you can learn more about research interests, etc. For example, a lot of research from professors in poultry science might be sign of a less-than welcoming program environment for vegetarians.

RE: Bastyr, I have two conflicting sources of information. A colleague who's an alumnus speaks highly of Bastyr, but one of the other posters on this board does not apparently agree. You can find this posting entry through the Google advanced search.

Hope that helps,
Mark Rifkin, MS, RD, LDN

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