ASSESSMENTS

Knowledge and Competency Assessment Tool (KCAT)

About

Fees & Payment

What to Expect

Format & Results

Visualize the Assessment

About

Touchstone Institute administers the Knowledge and Competency Assessment Tool (KCAT) to assess the foundational knowledge and competency of applicants who are applying for registration in Ontario. The KCAT was developed by Touchstone Institute in collaboration with the College of Dietitians of Ontario (CDO).

Visit the CDO Website

Exam Registration

See "Future Exam Dates" below.

Location: Remote Virtual

Touchstone Institute will refer to all individuals challenging an exam as examinees. In some virtual experiences, the term candidate may be used interchangeably with examinee.

Future Exam Dates

Future exam dates will be posted here once they are confirmed. Registration begins at 10:00 am EST

To Be Announced

Registration Opens

To Be Announced

Registration Closes

February 5, 2025

Virtual Knowledge Exam

Morning or afternoon

Virtual Competency Exam

Morning or afternoon

Registration

Registration for the KCAT is available only to examinees who have received the following:

Referral from the CDO
Email confirmation and registration details from Touchstone Institute

For more information on KCAT eligibility, please contact the College of Dietitians of Ontario.

Before you register for a Touchstone Institute Exam please ensure you understand how the exam results contribute in your pathway towards licensure. If unsure, please contact your profession’s regulatory authority.

Fees & Payment

Fees

The fee for the KCAT is CAN$ 425, payable by Visa or MasterCard only at the time of registration. KCAT registration will not be considered complete without immediate payment.

Cancellation and Refunds

Touchstone Institute accommodates a high volume of examinees and enforces a strict cancellation policy to ensure fairness. Please refer to our exam cancellation policy here.

Exam cancellation fee: CAN$ 55

Deadline for refund (minus cancellation fee): 15 days before the examination

If there is a need to cancel your exam: please contact us

Code of Conduct

Exam Code of Conduct and Ethical Behaviour

Examinees participating in an assessment must sign an Exam Conduct Agreement attesting that they will not disseminate, circulate, publish or share any content of the examination. Breaches include comparing client responses with your colleagues, sharing exam content with future examinees and posting case information or exam questions online. Any breach in exam content or process may lead to disciplinary and legal measures, including invalidating your results.

Please visit the Ethical Exam Behaviour page and sign the agreement at the bottom.

Exam Resources

The following resources will help with your examination:

Exam Format & Results

Exam Format

Please note: All of our assessments are designed to standardize as many exam elements as possible. Depending on examinee registration numbers and facility parameters, exam format may vary from the information provided on our website. Information regarding your specific exam will be provided with your invitation. We are committed to ensuring that all examinees are given a fair and valid assessment experience.

There are two components to the KCAT:

The knowledge-based component of the exam consists of up to 100 multiple-choice questions. All knowledge-based questions are independent questions.
The competency-based component of the exam consists of up to 18 case scenarios and a series of 5 to 6 MCQs per case.

The knowledge component of the exam is written in the morning and the competency component is written in the afternoon.

Note there is a one-hour break in between the two components of the exam.

Results

Examination results will take up to eight weeks to process and are sent directly to the Regulator. The Regulator communicates the results directly to examinees.

Visualize the Exam

Partners

Touchstone Institute has collaborated with the following organization to develop and administer this assessment: