Prepare for Holistic Admissions Take-off: Perspectives from 5 Physical Therapy Programs
Purpose: Holistic admissions refers to a balanced and individualized review process whereby applicants are considered based on their unique experiences and attributes, alongside traditional academic metrics. Holistic admissions processes have been widely adopted by many health profession institutions seeking to identify and enroll a diverse student body capable of meeting their institutional mission and objectives. A larger aim of holistic admissions is to improve access to health professions education for underrepresented and traditionally excluded persons, and to move towards the broader goal of health equity. Holistic admissions has been identified as a strategic priority for physical therapy education by the Academy of Physical Therapy Education, the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy, and the American Physical Therapy Association. This course is designed to continue the discussion among physical therapy educators regarding the value of holistic admissions processes and share current best practices to promote the adoption of the concept, practice, and utilization of a holistic review framework in DPT admissions. Representatives from A.T. Still University (ATSU), California State University-Sacramento (CSUS), Des Moines University (DMU), Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) will share their program’s experience in facilitating holistic review practices.Methods and/or Description of Project: During this moderated panel discussion, course presenters will describe their program’s experience with developing, implementing, and evaluating holistic admissions practices, including outcomes to date. Course participants will be encouraged to ask questions, especially those that would assist physical therapy educators as they consider holistic admissions practices in the context of their academic programs.Results/Outcomes: The programs represented by the panel have a combined total of 40 years of experience with holistic admissions practices. The panelists offer varying perspectives with regard to holistic review development, implementation strategies, barriers to implementation, methods for evaluating non-academic criteria, and outcome measures. Panelists will also share data with respect to the impact of implementing holistic practices and suggest opportunities for process improvement. ATSU: ATSU has used cognitive prerequisites that include a wide range of abilities while also having a secondary focus on an applicant’s activities in his/her community. Analyzing the cognitive prerequisites has allowed ATSU to identify what they believe is a minimal level for a good chance of success in their program and begin to look at placing more emphasis on identifying applicants that are more in line with the mission of the university and philosophy of the program. CSUS: CSUS has incorporated four non-cognitive factors in their admissions processes for over 20 years: Second-language fluency, economic background, educational background and environmental background. Definitions of and scoring and weighting of these factors, as well as outcomes data on correlations with students’ academic performance and NPTE success will be presented. DMU: The DPT program at DMU implemented a formal holistic admission process in 2014 through the identification of non-cognitive attributes valued by the faculty and those in alignment with the university mission. A weighted rubric for application screening and interview scoring is utilized. The Admission Committee considers interviewer recommendations and holistic characteristics in the selection of a diverse cohort. To date, academic metrics and NPTE success has remained stable pre and post the use of holistic admissions process. MUSC: MUSC began investigating use of holistic review criteria in 2015, and implementation initiated for the class that matriculated in 2017. The program has admitted two cohorts using a holistic review in admissions (one of which starts in May 2018) and is analyzing persistence rates until graduation and licensure exam data are available for comparison. Holistic criteria include: prior work experience/volunteerism; leadership experience; research background; military service; diversity; recommendation quality; and efforts to improve application from previous submission. UNMC: Recently analyzed data indicate that UNMC’s College of Allied Health Professions’ applicants and matriculates’ dearth of diversity in terms of socioeconomic status, first generation college attendee status and geographic origin, in addition to race/ethnicity, all of which are potentially related to historical emphasis on GPA and GRE in admissions processes. Beginning this year, assessment of Sedlacek’s 8 non-cognitive variables will play a significant role in admissions, particularly in choosing applicants for personal interviews. The process of gaining support for and implementing holistic processes will be discussed.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: This course is directly related to the subtheme of this conference, Taking flight and advancing PT education to promote access and equity. Physical therapy education has the responsibility to prepare a workforce that can meet the needs of a rapidly diversifying population and help overcome disparities in healthcare. Holistic review in admissions serves as a strategy to promote access and equity by giving consideration to how the applicant will contribute to the educational environment, profession and community. As programs explore alternative “best practices” for making admissions decisions, considering experiences from engaged programs can facilitate the successful “takeoff” and implementation of holistic admissions practices.References: Association of American Medical Colleges. (2010). Roadmap to Diversity: Integrating Holistic Review Practices into Medical School Admissions Processes. Accessed at: http://www.cossa.org/diversity/reports/Integrating_Holistic_Review_Practices.pdf on March 3, 2017. American Dental Education Association. (2011). Transforming Admissions. Accessed at: http://www.adea.org/dental_education_pathways/AFASA/transforming/Documents/transformingAdmissions.pdf on March 3, 2017. Coleman-Salgado B, Barakatt. Identifying demographic and preadmission factors predictive of success on the National Physical Therapy Licensure Examination for graduates of a public physical therapist education program. Journal of Physical Therapy Education. 2018;32(1):8-16. Glazer, G, Clark, A, Bankston, K, et al. (2016). Holistic admissions in nursing: We can do this. Journal of Professional Nursing, 32(4):306-313. Kent, JD, McCarthy, MT. (2016). Holistic Review in Graduate School Admissions.Council of Graduate Schools: Washington, DC. Accessed at: http://cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_HolisticReview_final_web.pdf on March 3, 2017. Price, SS, et al. (2011). Evaluating the Impact of the ADEA Admissions Committee Workshops. Journal of Dental Education, 75.5: 696-706. Accessed at http://www.jdentaled.org/content/75/5/696.short on March 17, 2017. Urban Universities for Health. (2014). Holistic Admissions in the Health Professions: Findings from a National Survey. Accessed at: http://urbanuniversitiesforhealth.org/media/documents/Holistic_Admissions_in_the_Health_Professions.pdf on March 3, 2017. Valentine P, Wynn J, McLean D. Improving diversity in the health professions. North Carolina Medical Journal. 2016;77(2):137-140. Witzburg, RA, Sondheimer, HM. (2013). Holistic review: Shaping the medical profession one applicant at a time. New England Journal of Medicine, 368:1565-1567. Accessed at: http://www3.med.unipmn.it/papers/2013/NEJM/2013-04-25_nejm/nejmp1300411.pdf on March 3, 2017. Wise D, Dominguez J, Kapasi Z, et al. Defining underrepresented minorities and promoting holistic review admission strategies in physical therapist education. Journal of Physical Therapy Education. 2017;31(4):8-13.Course Objectives: 1. Understand the importance and benefits of a diverse educational environment and workforce in the health professions. 2. Describe what constitutes holistic review in admissions. 3. Identify challenges and opportunities experienced by 5 physical therapist education programs in facilitating a holistic admissions review processes. 4. Engage in questions and answers about the goals, processes, methods for measuring non-academic criteria, and outcomes-to-date of holistic review in physical therapy education.Instructional Methods: 1. Describe the holistic admissions review experiences of five physical therapist education programs 2. Moderated question and answer period 3. Discussion (large group)Tentative Outline/Schedule: 3 min: Welcome and Introductions (Moderator: Chesbro) 7 min: Overview of Holistic Review in Admissions (Chesbro) 10 min: Panelist Introduction and Program Descriptions (Bills) 40 min: Panel Discussion (Bills, Bordenave, Bowden, Coleman-Salgado, Mercuris) Flight Plan: Development of Holistic Review Practices Take off: Methods for measuring non-academic criteria Baggage Claim: Challenges and Lessons Learned Flight Data Recorder: Methods for evaluating the impact 30 min: Questions and Discussion (Moderator: Chesbro)