Selecting Successful Students: a cohort survey of first year BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy students

There is a historical challenge for admissions tutors of healthcare programmes to recruit high calibre pre-registration students (Posthuma and Noh, 1990 p286, Callwood, Allan and Courtenay, 2012 p835). While there has been... [ view full abstract ]

There is a historical challenge for admissions tutors of healthcare programmes to recruit high calibre pre-registration students (Posthuma and Noh, 1990 p286, Callwood, Allan and Courtenay, 2012 p835). While there has been much research, within occupational therapy education, exploring candidates age, previous academic history and interview strategies, none has explored the UCAS route of a candidate. A study of a Midlands university explored this factor in addition to consideration of the factors assessed at interview in an exploration to understand ‘What are the assessed factors within the admissions process which predict the outcome of a student’s first year of studies?’
A retrospective cohort study of 148 full-time pre-registration students was undertaken and analysed using parametric tests through the use of SPSS.
There were four key findings: there is a difference in the academic performance of students dependant on their UCAS route of application; there is a difference in the age range of candidates dependant on their UCAS route of application; there is a difference in the academic performance of students dependant on whether they fully met the academic entry requirements or not and; a link between the grading of three components of the interview was found (discussion of media clip, writing style and academic performance).
The pressure to fill places in a timely way may traditionally mean some courses are full before ‘late’ applications are received. These findings suggest academic admissions tutors should allow opportunity for UCAS ‘Late’ applicants who, in this study, achieved a higher mean grade.