- Before you enrol
- Observation skills
- Communication skills
- Motor skills
- Behavioural and social skills
- Intellectual - conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities
- Sustained performance
Committed to equity and diversity
At UniSC, we are committed to facilitating the integration of all students into the University community.
Reasonable adjustments in teaching and/or assessment methods can be made for students provided those adjustments do not compromise the inherent academic requirements of the program.
The inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition are the fundamental skills and abilities that the student must be able to achieve to demonstrate the essential learning outcomes of the Bachelor of Nutrition.
This Statement provides realistic information about the inherent academic requirements that you must meet to complete your course and graduate. Make sure you read and understand the requirements for the Bachelor of Nutrition so you can make an informed judgement about your ability to fulfil them.
Skills you need
The Bachelor of Nutrition has inherent academic requirements in six categories:
- Observational skills
- Communication skills
- Motor skills
- Intellectual, such as conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities
- Behavioural and social skills
- Sustained performance
Before you enrol
If you intend to enrol in a Bachelor of Nutrition degree at the UniSC, look carefully at the inherent academic requirements listed in this statement and think about whether you might experience challenges in meeting them:
If you think you might experience challenges related to your disability, health condition or for any other reason, you should discuss your concerns with a University Ability Adviser or School staff.
Reasonable adjustments
Students with disabilities or other special circumstances may be provided with reasonable adjustment to enable them to meet the inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition if the adjustment is:
- Logistically reasonable.
- Likely to result in the student being able to perform the skills adequately and in a timely manner.
Support and further information is available from UniSC
Observational skills
The core observational requirements are the capacity to demonstrate adequate hearing, vision and tactile perception to safely and effectively complete tasks during laboratory practical classes, field trips and/ or Work Integrated Learning placements. Students must demonstrate sufficient visual acuity and touch to perform the required range of skills for food preparation, processing and preservation and to evaluate and modify food for different individuals and population groups.
Students will use these skills to:
- Prepare and process foods.
- Interpret food composition and nutritional analysis data.
- Read and interpret food legislation, regulations and nutrition standards.
- Observe food systems and community nutrition settings to identify nutrition issues and improve services to promote healthy nutrition.
- Observe, identify and interpret the physical and sensory changes to food from food processing and food preparation techniques.
- Identify Work Occupational Health and Safety hazards in the workplace environment and react within a limited time frame.
Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, tasks and assessments to maintain consistent, accurate and safe care to self and others.
Students must demonstrate sufficient auditory ability to participate in discussions in the academic and Work Integrated Learning environment.
Justification
Adequate vision, hearing and tactile perception are required to safely and effectively complete tasks during laboratory practical classes, research activities, field trips and Work Integrated Learning placements.
Adjustments
Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks required to complete the degree. Any strategies to address the effects of vision, touch or hearing impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise completion of assessment tasks or safety.
Exemplars
Visual ability:
- Preparing and processing food.
- To be able to assist in developing and delivering nutrition services in Work Integrated Learning placements.
- Working in a safe manner in Work Integrated Learning placement
Auditory ability:
- Practising verbal communication skills during tutorial discussions and Work Integrated Learning placement.
- Participate in group discussions and multisector team meetings in Work Integrated Learning placement
Tactile ability:
- Accurate preparation and processing of food.
Communication skills
Students must be able to interpret information and communicate effectively in spoken and written English with language use and style appropriate to the audience.
Verbal communication
Students require adequate English language skills to understand lectures, reading materials and verbal and written instructions, to participate in group activities and to complete assessment tasks.
Effective and efficient verbal communication includes the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of communication to ensure safe delivery of health services.
Students will use these skills to:
- Elicit information.
- Educate and be understood by others.
- Communicate sensitively and with cultural awareness with others.
- Convey a spoken message accurately and effectively.
- Understand and respond appropriately to spoken instructions and respond in a timely manner.
Nonverbal communication
Students will use effective nonverbal communication to:
- Communicate in a respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest and non-judgemental manner.
- Respond professionally to requests from individuals/groups, supervisors and other professionals in Work Integrated Learning placement.
- Recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues.
- Have appropriate awareness of own behaviours and modify these to suit the current situation.
- Be sensitive to individual differences.
- Maintain constant and appropriate facial expressions, eye contact, posture and personal space.
- Assess individual/group reactions to facilitate nutritional services.
- Communicate in a noisy environment.
Written communication
Accurate written communication is fundamental to accurately convey information and provide consistent and safe nutritional information. Students will use these skills to:
- Use grammatical structures and vocabulary that are appropriate to task.
- Spell frequently used words, including relevant technical terms.
- Document ideas and information.
- Construct and adapt nutrition education resources that meet professional standards.
- Compile reports that are required within industry from time to time.
Listening
Effective and efficient hearing will be used to:
- Participate in group discussions and in teams in Work Integrated Learning placement.
Justification
These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition because students must comprehend a range of information. Communication skills are a core requirement of the program because effective interpretation, recording and transmission of information improves the safe and effective delivery of healthcare.
Adjustments
Adjustments for impaired verbal communication must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy issues to ensure safe and effective practice.
Adjustments for impaired non-verbal communication must enable the recognition, initiation and appropriate response to effective communication in a timely and appropriate manner to ensure safe and effective practice.
Exemplars
As a student you must be able to:
- Write and present clear, concise and accurate reports, essays, oral presentations etc.
- Actively participate in and contribute to group assessment tasks, tutorial, laboratory and Work Integrated Learning placement discussions and activities.
- Establish a rapport with individuals/groups during practice and respond appropriately to requests from individuals/groups, supervisors and other professionals and stakeholders in Work Integrated Learning placements.
- Recognise and respond appropriately to cues during classroom situations and Work Integrated Learning placement.
- Create and adapt nutrition education resources.
- Comprehend spoken English delivered at conversational speed, and written English in a variety of styles and formats common to academic and workplace settings.
Motor skills
Students must demonstrate adequate gross and fine motor skills to safely and effectively complete tasks during field or laboratory practical classes, field or laboratory based research activities, field trips and Work Integrated Learning placements.
Justification
These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition because performing these tasks consistently and safely is required to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.
Fine motor skills are a core requirement of the program because it requires fine motor function to manipulate and operate nutritional analysis, food preparation and food processing equipment.
Gross motor skills are a core requirement of the program because it involves physical demands and requires gross motor function. Students must be able to demonstrate that they can meet the occupational health and safety requirements of the Work Integrated Learning placement setting.
Adjustments
Reasonable adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness and safety of self and others. Such adjustments may include adaptive equipment, assistive technology, practical assistant personnel or modifications to the task which do not impact upon the academic knowledge and skills required to complete it.
Exemplars
Gross Motor Skills:
As a student you must be able to:
- Manoeuvre around equipment in confined spaces (e.g. institutional kitchens, kitchen laboratories, science laboratories).
- Mobilise safely in a variety of environments.
Fine Motor Skills:
- Perform measurements for food preparation and processing and for nutritional analyses.
Intellectual – conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities
Students must be able to collect, organise, analyse and interpret numerical and qualitative data meaningfully and to recall information without reference. Students must be able to critically analyse various forms of scientific evidence and employ logical reasoning to arrive at independent conclusions.
Reading
Activities which rely on accurate reading skills include:
- Interpreting information in formats that include hand written text, printed text, electronic texts, graphs and diagrams.
- Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic conventions.
- Recognising an explicit purpose for reading such as gathering nutritional information, identification of specific facts or to understand a concept.
Numeracy
Competent and accurate numeracy skills are essential for safe and effective practice in nutrition, food preparation and food processing. Students must demonstrate the capacity to interpret and correctly apply data and measurements and to manipulate numerical criteria. Activities which rely on this skill include:
- Interpreting numerical data in specific formats.
- Analysing food composition and nutritional analysis
- Calculating measurements from data e.g. nutritional requirements
Justification
These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition because information literacy skills are the basis for evidence based practice. Safe and effective practice is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be recalled, understood and applied appropriately. Students must be able to accurately acquire information and convey appropriate, effective messages. Students must be able to identify problems, develop plans to improve nutrition services and evaluate outcomes within defined timeframes.
Adjustments
Adjustments must be consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements and professional standards and not compromise the nutritional wellbeing of the population, communities and individuals.
Exemplars
As a student you must be able to:
- Conceptualise and use appropriate knowledge to fulfil academic assessment tasks and work placement activities.
- Read, interpret, synthesize and comprehend information from multiple sources.
- Read and understand instructions, conditions and procedures for handling materials, undertaking experiments and fieldwork, operating equipment, taking measurements and interpreting displays and outputs.
- Perform accurate calculations involving fractions, decimals and percentages, and interpret statistical data in complex tables and graphs.
- Accurately interpret quantitative and qualitative data.
- Comply with relevant codes of conduct while at university and on Work Integrated Learning placements.
- Comply with the policies of placement providers e.g. Occupational Health and Safety and mandatory requirements such as a Blue Card (Working with Children Check).
- Apply organisational, business and management skills in the practice of nutrition (e.g. effective time, workload and resource management).
Behavioural and Social Skills
Students must have the capacity to demonstrate:
- Cultural, environmental and social awareness and ethical and reflective practice – e.g. in tutorials, workshops, laboratory classes, field trips and Work Integrated Learning placements.
- Behavioural stability and adaptability in environments which may be at times challenging and unpredictable.
- Sufficient self-awareness to manage fluctuations in health and emotional status.
- Adaptation to change.
The behavioural and social skills are used to facilitate professional behaviours in practice as evidenced by compliance with academic and non-academic misconduct policies, codes of conduct of the industry partners in academic Work Integrated Learning workplace settings:
Student Conduct - Governing Policy
Student Placement Agreement - log into Sonia Online required
Code of Conduct - Queensland Public Service
Justification
These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition because nutritionists are accountable and responsible for ensuring professional standards of behaviour in in socially and culturally diverse environments in professional practice.
Adjustments
Reasonable adjustments must support stable, effective and professional behaviour in academic, food service and public health nutrition settings.
Exemplars
As a student you must be able to:
- Respond appropriately and professionally to stressful situations and issues.
- Work constructively in culturally and socially diverse groups while dealing with challenging practical and theoretical issues.
- Demonstrate sensitivity and behave ethically.
- Maintain the integrity of data that is collected in experimental work.
- Adhere to any animal or human ethics requirements, where applicable.
Sustained performance
Students must have the capacity to demonstrate the ability to maintain physical, mental and emotional performance over extended and/or specified periods of time:
- Physical skills and energy are required to perform tasks in a timely manner or over an extended period.
- Mental and emotional skills are required to concentrate on multiple tasks for an assigned period of time.
- Concentration skills are required to perform repetitive activities until a task is completed appropriately.
Justification
These are inherent academic requirements of the Bachelor of Nutrition because students must be able to perform activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately. Activities may occur over extended periods of time.
Adjustments
Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.
Exemplars
As a student, you must:
- Maintain consistent concentration throughout classroom learning activities, field trips and whilst on Work Integrated Learning placement.
- Remain focussed and provide consistent responses over a Work Integrated Learning placement which may exceed usual working hours per day.
- Perform multiple tasks in an assigned period of time with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately.