Holistic admissions review in physical therapist education

This study examined perceived barriers and benefits to holistic admission review in physical therapist education (PTE) programs. The mixed methods study utilized both quantitative and qualitative data collected via an online survey to accredited programs and collection of quantitative data from program websites, Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) program pages, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapist Education (CAPTE), and the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). Seven research questions were addressed: • RQ1a: Is there a significant difference between the ultimate pass rate on the NPTE for programs that utilize holistic admissions and those that do not? (Quantitative) • RQ1b: Is there a significant difference between the first-time pass rate on the NPTE for programs that utilize holistic admissions and those that do not? (Quantitative) • RQ2: Is there a significant difference between program graduation/retention rates for programs that utilize holistic admissions and those that do not? (Quantitative) • RQ3: Is there a significant difference in the 1-year postgraduation employment rate for programs that utilize holistic admissions and those that do not? (Quantitative) • RQ4: Are there differences in perceptions of holistic admissions based on specific program attributes? (Quantitative) • RQ5: How is the holistic admissions process currently utilized in physical therapist education programs? (Qualitative) • RQ6: What are the perceived barriers and benefits to holistic admissions and how do programs address those barriers? (Qualitative) Results indicate that there is not a statistically significant difference between programs that utilize holistic admissions and those that do not for RQ1a-RQ4, with one exception. There was a significant difference in perceptions of holistic admissions between programs currently utilizing holistic review and those that did not. The utilization of qualitative methods in RQ5 and RQ6 provided rich data to help understand admission committees’ utilization and current perceptions of holistic admissions review, particularly in regard to perceived barriers and benefits. This qualitative data also provides important points of consideration for programs currently utilizing or considering the utilization of holistic admission review as well as direction for future research.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Littleton, Rebecca McKnight

Contributors dc:contributor

• Crawford, Elizabeth K.
• Banks, Steven R.; Rausch, David W.; O'Brien, Elizabeth R.
• College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies

• Physical therapy schools
• Universities and colleges--United States--Graduate work--Admission

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/783

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1960