Independent higher education providers are ready to support every student to succeed in reaching their potential
The next Government should:
- Deliver a modern maintenance system that allows students to focus on their studies
- Adopt a national strategy to support every student with their mental health and wellbeing
Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION)
The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) offers online courses in personalised nutrition which create flexible routes into careers within health and wellbeing (including within the NHS). Moira, one of ION’s recent graduates, previously worked in the NHS before leaving her work due to chronic fatigue and declining health. After a period away from work and study she enrolled on a modular programme at ION to retrain and upskill in a new career. Crucially, the nature of ION's stackable and online delivery meant that Moira could successfully study whilst balancing recovery and illness management alongside parental responsibility.
ION has yet to register with the Office for Students (OfS) as only students who register for their full degree would be eligible for funding, and even then without maintenance loans. ION wants to encourage more students like Moira to study personalised nutrition to work in an area where they can have a real impact.
Despite being ready to scale up delivery to increased numbers of students, ION still has no confidence whether their students on modular delivery will be able to access the funding they need. Personalised nutrition needs more students with diverse backgrounds and experiences, from across the UK, to deliver the support needed to help people live happier and healthier lives. With the right funding and support, students like Moira can help more than just themselves onto that path.
Personalised nutrition needs more students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to deliver the support needed to help people live happier and healthier lives
Since ION students have to self-fund, they continue to work. Having a fully online course helps them to combine their work and home life with training for a new career. However, providing access to maintenance loans or grants would enable students to manage their work and home life more effectively, and increase the number of students on courses who, upon graduation, can make a positive contribution to improving the health of the nation.
Students from the most under represented backgrounds, who were in receipt of free school meals, would have the option to study to qualify as nutritional therapists and go on to work with diverse communities. Where people have benefited from nutritional therapy on their health care journey, they have then wanted to train and share their learning with others, spreading their knowledge. People are more likely to engage where they can see their experiences reflected in their practitioner; the care given is better informed by lived experience.
Providing access to maintenance funding and tuition grants not only helps students, it also supports ION's mission to educate, enthuse and instil optimum nutrition as the foundation of health for all by building the personalised nutrition and lifestyle practice workforce.
Find out more about the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION)