Return to: Departments and Schools

College of Health and Human Services
Grover Center W324
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: 740.593.2880
Fax: 740.593.0289
hcs@ohio.edu
http://www.ohiou.edu/humanandconsumer/

V. Ann Paulins, Director

The School of Human and Consumer Sciences, accredited by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, offers programs in child and family studies; food, nutrition and hospitality; interior architecture; and retail merchandising. There are nine professional curricula leading to the Bachelor of Science in Human and Consumer Sciences. In addition, the School offers a two-year curriculum in child development leading to the A.A.S. degree. Graduate work leading to the M.S. degree also is offered (see the Graduate Catalog).

The mission of the School of Human and Consumer Sciences is to promote the quest for the improvement of quality of life and the human condition through the integration of theory, research, and practice. The School endeavors to emphasize the relationships of the needs of individuals and families across life’s span to the society and environment. The School is committed to seeking innovative solutions to contemporary challenges and assumes responsibility for the dissemination of knowledge to the public to improve the quality of choice and consumption of goods and services. The School provides a variety of activities and experiences, including a departmental honors program, the Child Development Center, the Atrium Cafe, and the Nutrition Treatment Program.

Advising

It is essential for students to meet with a faculty advisor as soon as a degree program within the School of Human and Consumer Sciences has been selected. The academic programs within the School are rigorous, with the curricula designed to develop foundation skills during the freshman and sophomore years, with application and synthesis the cornerstones of the junior and senior years. Therefore, students must work with a faculty advisor to understand the requirements, including prerequisite courses, of the academic program in which they are enrolled. Prerequisite course requirements are enforced by the academic program, so failure to meet the prerequisite requirements could delay completion of degree requirements.

Honors Program

The School of Human and Consumer Sciences’ Honors Program offers academically qualified students a more advanced and challenging educational experience related to the study of human and consumer sciences. The program provides opportunities for involvement in scholarly independent work, one-on-one interaction with faculty, and an in-depth study of one area of human and consumer sciences.

Throughout the Honors Program, students work under the guidance of a faculty honors advisor and the Honors Program coordinator to plan and complete scholarly projects. Students complete a thesis course sequence HCGE 495H, 497H, 498H, and 499H, during which a project is designed, executed, reported in writing, and presented to the students’ honors advisory committee and others. Projects may be research, development of educational materials, in-depth senior term papers, or original designs. Those students who successfully complete their honors project receive special designation on their diplomas. For more information, refer to http://www .ohiou.edu/humanandconsumer/honors.htm.

The Atrium Café

The primary purpose of the Atrium Cafe is to serve as a quantity food preparation and management laboratory for students in the food, nutrition, and hospitality programs in the School of Human and Consumer Sciences. It is a commercial establishment housed in Grover Center—open to the public for breakfast and lunch weekdays during the academic quarter.

In addition to quantity food preparation, students use the site as a management education facility, a laboratory to learn purchasing and inventory management, and as a site to practice organizational strategy. Students in other areas of Ohio University use the Atrium Cafe to experience marketing strategy, promotional techniques, customer service, and event planning.

The mission of the Atrium Cafe in Grover Center is to provide a best–practices laboratory site for food, nutrition, and hospitality students in the School of Human and Consumer Sciences at Ohio University. The operation of the Atrium Cafe will strive to achieve:

• high quality food
• good management practices
• a clean and pleasant environment
• structured opportunities for student learning at introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels
• collaborative relationships with programs in the School, the College of Health and Human Services, Ohio University, and the Athens community

Child Development Center

The Ohio University Child Development Center, accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NEAYC),  provides clinical opportunities for Ohio University students from the Schools of Human and Consumer Sciences; Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences; and Recreation and Sport Sciences, as well as the Department of Psychology, the College of Education, and other related departments throughout the University.

The philosophy of the Child Development Center is based on the belief that children best acquire knowledge when they are in an enriched environment that is challenging, stimulating, and nurturing. The primary commitment of the Child Development Center is to help children realize their full potential in emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development.

A second responsibility of the Child Development Center is to prepare early childhood educators. The Center is also committed to research that furthers knowledge of the growth and development of children, family relations, and educational curricula.

Finally, the Center acts to support families in the Athens community, offering both developmental childcare and professional knowledge of children’s growth, development, and learning.

Nutrition Treatment Program

This program has four main objectives:

1. To provide learning opportunities for senior dietetic and master’s level nutrition majors
2. To offer a health care service to community residents
3. To provide outreach educational efforts to improve the nutrition awareness of the community
4. To foster research designed to promote client understanding and compliance and to maximize students’ decision-making and problem-solving skills.

The Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education-approved program in didactic dietetic education is charged with providing students with learning based on practical experience. Through working with clients, students gain experience in nutrition assessment, developing a plan of care to meet client needs, implementing and evaluating that plan, and documenting progress in the medical record. Nutrition counseling allows dietetic majors to synthesize and apply previously acquired knowledge in a practical ambulatory-care setting, under the guidance of a registered and licensed dietitian.

The Nutrition Treatment Program provides a service to area residents who show some degree of cardiovascular or other disease risk. The goal is to help at-risk individuals prevent or attenuate disease through adoption of eating behaviors appropriate to their individual health needs and lifestyle.

The Nutrition Treatment Program provides the community with educational programming on issues of current nutritional concern through a variety of outreach activities. The goal is to increase public awareness, knowledge, and adoption of recommended nutritional practices.

The Nutrition Treatment Program fosters research designed to serve clients and encourages research that helps future dietetic professionals develop conceptual and decision-making skills.

Degree Requirements for All Majors

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Human and Consumer Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Education, and Associate in Applied Science degrees must fulfill the University General Education requirements and complete a minimum of 192 hours for B.S. and 96 hours for A.A. (see “General Education Requirements” in the Graduation Requirements—Universitywide section). A grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 (C) is required in all hours attempted (both overall and in your major) but includes only final hours and grade points on retaken courses. Some programs have additional criteria that must be met. In addition, you might be required to have a GPA higher than 2.0 (C) to obtain certain field experiences or internships, to be admitted to teacher education, or to be admitted to graduate school or student teaching.

Note: Most undergraduate courses offered through the School of Human and Consumer Sciences can be retaken up to two times (one initial registration and two retakes). Variable credit courses usually cannot be retaken (with the possibility of the initial grade no longer being figured in the accumulative grade point calculation), but can be repeated for credit to count toward your degree.

Return to: Departments and Schools