The NTA’s Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Online Program
Frequently asked questions for alumni and current students
We hope you are thoroughly enjoying your journey with holistic nutrition, whether you have been successfully practicing for a decade or are still immersed in your studies– witnessing the transformative power of real food in the lives of those you care about is always thrilling. As your excitement continues to grow with the life-changing ripple effect this education inspires, the excitement behind the scenes at the NTA has also been blossoming. While you have been studying, researching, and supporting the scientific wonders of the human body, we have been analyzing, discussing, and implementing the valuable feedback we have gathered from students and graduates—both historically as well as feedback you have shared with us recently.
The deeper we dove in, the message became very clear: Both of our NTC and NTP programs offered their unique benefits, but neither one completely met the needs of our students on its own. This feedback helped the NTA realize we could better serve our community and create a stronger foundation for nutritional therapy practitioners to be successful in their careers if we shifted our model to offer a single program that offered the best of both worlds—the most comprehensive curriculum delivered in an accessible, online platform and the more widely recognized professional designation of Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
We are excited to announce that we are officially launching our new, streamlined program offering of the NTP Online Program, which is dedicated to achieving our vision to empower a passionate community of life-changing nutrition professionals to create a ripple effect that transforms lives and shifts the outlook of health to one of hope, today and for generations to come.
The following FAQs will help you understand the changes this shift brings, both on the program level as well as to you as an individual member of our community. We truly believe the standardization of our profession to the NTP designation and the dynamic pathways of niche customization this model opens up will provide the best platform for you to succeed in the industry and achieve your career goals.
I work on large scale branding and marketing campaigns and what the NTA is doing here is a very good move for the industry. Less ambiguity, more consistency, and higher awareness. The evolution of things like this happen all the time and for us as practitioners to stay relevant and have a voice in the health + wellness space, we have to move in stride with change or we’ll never make progress. This is a great opportunity to educate and engage in conversations with your audience. 😉
I just wanted to tell somebody how freaking excited I am. I feel like I won the lottery. I cannot wait to watch those culinary modules and feel so privileged that I was able to be a part of this phase of the NTA.
Just like practitioners are now able to leverage the internet in order to serve clients across the world, the training we receive can now be offered to those interested in serving, regardless of their location or ability to travel for in-person workshops. (Read their complete thoughts here.)
What is the change we are making?
Instead of offering two versions of our program, one which contained an in-person workshop requirement (NTP), and one which was all online with some unique wellness training modules (NTC), we now offer one single, comprehensive program that covers all aspects of wellness, delivered in a more accessible, all online, instructor lead format called the NTP Online program.
How does this change impact my credentials?
Since existing NTP and NTC alumni have all had a significant amount of overlap in the foundational core portion of their programs, we have made the decision to grant all current NTC graduates (who are current with CEUs) and current NTC students the designation of a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (NTP). NTP graduates and current NTP students who have attended the in-person workshops to learn the FCA (formerly known as the Functional Evaluation) will be given a new specialization designation of Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner (FNTP) that demonstrates their enhanced education in this powerful assessment tool. So if a graduate was Michael Smith, NTC, he would now be Michael Smith, NTP. Or, if a graduate was Sarah Jones, NTP she will now carry the credential Sarah Jones, FNTP.
When do these new credentials go into effect, and when will you send me my new certificate?
Credentials will go into effect right away! Graduates may begin using the NTP and FNTP designations immediately. A digital copy of your certificate with your new designation will be emailed to members before June 1, 2020.
Is the hands-on workshop for the FE/FCA going away?
This powerful modality is part of the NTA’s DNA, and a valuable skill that takes our core program one level deeper for those who have the desire to learn and offer it to clients. We heard the feedback loud and clear that students and alumni wanted more time and focused training on this skill, so we’re strategizing how to make this change and give it proper attention as a stand-alone FCA program. If we have the demand, we could be offering this in-person hands-on assessment training as a specialization course in the future.
As a previous NTC or NTP graduate, will I get access to the new modules that new NTP Online students will receive?
As part of the NTA’s promise to ensure that NTPs are the most qualified, well-rounded practitioners in the industry, we will provide all current members access to the most current curriculum updates. This is available in the Alumni Member Community Corner.
Will you be offering other additional specialty programs in addition to the FCA and the Career Development Course?
Yes! We have some excellent ideas in the hopper, and will be reaching out to our instructor, alumni, and student communities to get more feedback on the topics and subject matters to enhance their core NTP credential. In this manner, students and graduates can customize their education and acquire specific knowledge for their unique programmatic niche. They can fashion a “tailor-made” pathway based on the passions they have and the skills they desire to succeed in their chosen career path. If there is a specific topic you would like to see offered to enhance your own NTP certification, please let us know!
I have a book, business cards, or other material that is difficult to change—can I just keep my old credential?
We do understand that there is no perfect time to change our designations and it may impact some of you. While we do ask that you make the change over to your updated designation as soon as possible, both to ensure you remain credible to your audience and to help strengthen the presence of the NTP designation in the industry, we understand if you continue to utilize the old credential until you use your materials. The NTA will be maintaining a page on our website documenting the history of our program and evolution of the credentials so your customers and clients will have a place to see that the NTC certification and the historic NTP certification that included the FE/FCA training were valid programs and authentic certifications.
What actions do I need to take as a result of this change?
If you are actively practicing and have your credentials in use publicly, your first step is to make sure you change over to your updated designation (historic NTC is now NTP and historic NTP is now FNTP) as soon as possible. The second step would be to use your Alumni Member login credentials to find the new video lectures you have access to and spend some time studying the material.
How do I access the Community Table and join in on the conversation?
The NTA’s Community Table is a graduate-only gated forum where our community can come together to discuss research and client cases, network with collegues and receive announcements and current news.
To access Community Table, you must be an NTA graduate. If you have your username and password, you can login or request your unique link here. If you have questions, you can contact Community Affairs Team.
Additional questions
The in-person aspect of the weekend workshops was the primary draw for me; being able to personally connect with likeminded individuals and our instructor! How can it be possible to even replicate this kind of connection with an all online program?
We fully acknowledge that moving to the all online model does come with losses—and the lack of in-person workshops where people formed life-long relationships and engaged in authentic, meaningful learning experiences is the most difficult to process. Nothing can replace the power of being live and in person with like–minded, passionate individuals!
That said, most universities and even high schools now offer courses all online in order to meet the demands of their students. There are tested, best practices in place that schools are implementing to ensure that this move from classroom to online classroom engenders collaboration and connection. The NTA will be tapping into these strategies in our enhanced program delivery of the NTP Online program, integrating more collaborative work and enhanced instructor interaction. We are committed to keeping as much “magic” that took place in our workshops online as possible.
Our goal is to ensure that our vital holistic nutrition education is accessible to more working professionals and to individuals who cannot afford the additional costs the workshops required. That chance for connection has not disappeared from the NTA’s offerings, it has been repositioned into a platform where it can be better harnessed, enjoyed, and its value elevated.
