Goetz, Holzheimer, Widman, Anderson, Burks

1. Effectiveness of Admission
Procedures Among Master of
Occupational Therapy
Programs
Monica Goetz
Shannon Holzheimer
Allison Widman
Jennifer Anderson
Shardae Burks

2. Research Advisor
 Glenn Goodman, Ph.D., OTR/L
 Professor and Director,
 Master of Occupational Therapy Program
 Cleveland State University

3. Fun Facts
 Student enrollment in MOT programs
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Master’s 11,970 13,187 14,160 14,825 15,767 16,799 17,342

5. Fun Facts
 Programs offering master’s level programs for
occupational therapy students:
Slots
Available
Applications Enrolled
2010 5,937 17,789 5,846
2011 6,193 23,044 6,155
2012 6,406 28,964 6,292
2013 6,726 34,699 6,611

7. What criteria do you
think best predicts a
successful OT
student?

8. Introduction
Occupational therapy is one of the fastest growing
and highly-ranked professions.
 Ranked #9 on CareerCast Jobs Rated 2014
report
 Ranked #14 on U.S. News' 100 Best Jobs of
2014 list

9. Introduction
AOTA Centennial Vision
 Powerful - need for highly trained professionals
 Evidence-based - need evidence to support
our admissions decisions
 Science-driven - need practitioners who are
capable of keeping up with today's healthcare
demands

10. Introduction
 Main problem:
 Limited evidence-based research exists to
guide this selection process because:
 Research dealing with bachelor's level occupational
therapy programs is no longer valid
 Little research has been conducted since master's
degrees became mandatory in 2007

11. Research Questions
1) How do MOT Programs admit
prospective students?
2) What evidence exists to show
that these methods are effective?

12. Literature Review

13. Literature Review
 An increasing number of criteria and methods are
used for admissions.
 It is highly important to have a method that
properly utilizes the best predictors for academic
success in the program.

14. Literature Review
 A variety of criteria are used in admission decisions
 Criteria
 GPA 100%
 Letters of Recommendation 82%
 Prerequisite GPA 41%
 Writing sample 38%
 Volunteer experience 38%
Auriemma, 2007

15. Literature Review
 Grade Point Average (GPA)
 Most commonly used criterion
 Undergraduate GPA correlated with OT-
GPA
Katz & Mosey, 1980; Lysaght, Donnelly, &
Villeneuve, 2009

16. Literature Review
 Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
GRE correlated with OT-GPA
Kirchner and Holm, 1997; Kirchner, Stone and
Holm, 2000

17. Literature Review
 Interview
48% of respondents reported
using interviews
 clarifying application information
 assessing non-cognitive skills
 assessing "fit" with program mission
 communicating expectations to
applicant
Agho, Mosley, & Smith-Paul,1998

18. Literature Review
 Essay
 Reason
 assess writing abilities
 ask questions pertinent to program admissions
 Essay was positively correlated with OT-GPA
 Kirchner & Holm, 1997
 Essay was not positively correlated with OT-
GPA
 Kirchner, Stone, & Holm, 2000

19. Literature Review
 Letters of Reference
 OT-GPA was not positively correlated
with letters of reference
 Kirchner & Holm, 1997; Lysaght, Donnelly, &
Villeneuve , 2009

20. Purpose of Study
 To determine which admission criteria MOT
programs are using.
 To determine which admission criteria
accurately predict the success of MOT students
based on first-time pass rates of each program
on the NBCOT exam.

21. Methodology
 Overview:
 Research advisor: Dr. Glenn Goodman
 Descriptive correlational study using multiple
regression analysis
 Participants: Program Directors of accredited
master’s level occupational therapy programs
in the United States

22. Methodology
 Methods:
 Obtained IRB approval
 Obtained informed consent from survey
participants
 Utilized survey software to send a survey
program directors of accreditted programs in
the U.S.

23. Survey
 Consisted of 12 questions
 Purpose:
 Determine which admission criteria MOT programs used
 Determine how effective the program directors felt their
admission process was
 Determine each program’s overall first-time pass rate on
the NBCOT exam
 Asked for admission criteria for graduating class of 2012
 Survey was sent to 147 MOT program directors
 49 program directors reponsed, equaling a 33% response
rate

24. Quantitative Data
 Descriptive statistics and descriptive comparison
were examined
 Seven independent variables (undergraduate GPA,
prerequisite GPA, GRE scores, essay, letters of
reference, interview, and other) were analyzed for
between group differences.
 The pass rates were compared by placing programs
into two groups (<90% pass rate, and 90% to 100%
pass rate) and the seven criteria variables were
compared for differences in percentage of use in the
total admission scores based on pass rates.

25. Qualitative Data
 Based on grounded theory design
 Data analysis involved producing a coding scheme
 5 themes were constructed from the coding scheme

26. Descriptive Results

27. Other Criteria used for Admissions
 Common examples of other criteria include:
 Volunteer experience, resumes, GPA (other
than undergraduate GPA or prerequisite GPA)
 Prior experiences related to leadership,
research, work, or extracurricular activities

31. Results
 When asked “How effective do you feel your
admission process was for the class of 2012?”
 12.2% reported extremely effective
 67.4% reported very effective
 16.3% reported moderately effective
 4.1% reported slightly effective
 0% reported not effective
 Since admitting the graduating class of 2012, 45%
reported changing their admission criteria

32. Results
 Overall NBCOT exam first-time pass rates of
participating programs’ graduating class of 2012:
 Ranged from 65% (1 program) to 100% (6
programs).
 Mean: 89.57%
 Mode: 100%

33. Results
 Compared the programs with the highest and lowest
first-time pass rates
 Higher pass rates (90% or higher- n= 21):
 Weighted undergraduate GPA at an average of 31%
 Weighted prerequisite GPA at 36%
 15 use GRE scores
 Lower pass rates(<90% - n=20) :
 Weighted undergraduate GPA at an average of18%
 Weighted prerequisite GPA at 24%
 7 use GRE scores

34. Inferential Statistics
 The only statistically significant between-group difference in the study
was found in pass rates based on use of the Graduate Record Exam.
 The mean pass rate for programs using the GRE was 92.1% vs. 87.5%
for programs that did not report using the GRE for admissions (p=.04
with statistical power of .54 and approaching moderate effect size
[partial eta squared = .085]).
 All other comparisons (reported percentage of use of the seven
admission criteria variables compared by lower vs. higher reported pass
rates [2 and 3 group comparisons were run] and pass rates compared
by reported use [yes or no as a dichotomous grouping variable] of the
seven admission criteria) were not statistically significant for between
group differences. This was true even when the higher third NBCOT
pass rates of the sample were compared to the lower third.

35. Correlations
 The only statistically significant result consisted of a
correlation between the overall pass rate and the
use of GRE scores (r =.292, p =.021).
 There was a statistically significant correlation
between the use undergraduate GPA and letters of
reference (r =.396, p =.002).
 Also,interview and letters of reference (r = .256, p =
.038).
 There was a statistically significant negative
correlation between use of interview and GRE
scores (r = -.347, p = .007).

36. Qualitative Results
 Five themes were identified upon reviewing the surveys.
 Comprehensive approach. Many program directors
regarded taking a comprehensive approach as a best
practice when reviewing candidates for selection.
 “There is no single most effective criteria. It is a profile of
abilities and experiences.”
 Increased applicant pool. The increased number of
applicants evoked both advantages and hardships in
recruiting those who are most qualified.
 “There are so many good applicants that we know we
prevent good students from getting admitted due to having
over 400 applicants for the 44 spaces available.”.

37.  Increased essay emphasis. In recent years, more
emphasis has been placed on essay submission.
 “We now require a short essay describing the
match between our program's objectives and their
career objectives. This will help us determine their
understanding of our program and if they are the
best match.”

38.  Importance of GPA. MOT directors hold divided
opinions regarding the importance of GPA scores in
predicting the suitability of candidates for the
program.
 “As the number of applicants increases each year so
does the average GPA. This has created concerns
about ensuring a diverse class that can be successful
and have the interpersonal skills to be good OT's.”

39.  Costs vs. benefits of interview. The costs and
benefits of the interview process must be considered
when deciding if this component will be incorporated
into the evaluation of prospective MOT students.
 “We struggle with if we should do interviews or not.
Each year we have 1-2 students that we feel like
are not a good fit for the profession, which may
have been picked up on an interview. It's hard to
determine if the amount of time required to
interview is worth the benefits that may/may not
occur.”

40. Discussion
 There is a vast array of selection criteria.
 There is not a general consensus among programs concerning
which criteria are most effective at determining success on the
NBCOT examination.
 Correlation between overall pass rate and GRE scores was
small to moderate
 Results suggest that assigning a relatively high weight
percentage to UGPA and PGPA may be beneficial in
determining which students will succeed.
 The schools with the highest pass rates placed a stronger
emphasis on GRE scores than the schools with lower pass
rates.

41. Discussion
 Our study was consistent with previous studies in
that GRE score correlated with future success in
an MOT program as defined by OT-GPA or overall
NBCOT pass rate.
 Our study found little to no correlation between
undergraduate GPA and overall first-time pass
rates on the NBCOT exam.

42. Limitations
 As students we have limited experience conducting research
 Short timeframe to complete
 Limited access to resources
 Anonymous online survey
 2/3 of potential data was unrepresented by our study
 Potential bias
 Difficult to compare our specific results to previous research
 Unable to access information regarding individual students’
performance on NBCOT exam
 Did not look at factors such as fieldwork scores and OT-GPA

43. Conclusion
 Although our study failed to verify which criteria are most
effective for making admissions decisions, we were successful
in reporting which criteria were being utilized by over a third of
the programs nationally to make these decisions.
 Future studies may look at reporting demographics such as
location, gender, age, and race to see if these covariates
influence NBCOT pass rates.
 Future studies should also survey the students instead of the
schools in order to obtain individual pass rates and GPAs to gain
a better understanding of the correlations.
 Pass rates of level II fieldwork should be included to better
define successful program completion rates in future studies.

44. Additional Information
 Paper accepted for publication to the Education
SIS Quarterly Newsletter of AOTA January 2016
 Poster presented at the 2014 OOTA conference

45. New literature since project
completion
 Multiple mini interviews- UT San Antonio-
Journal of Allied Health Spring 14- Vol 43
# 1, pp. 57-61
 CPI 260 Personality testing- Grand Valley
State U., Journal of Allied Health, Summer
13, Vol 42 #2, pp. 112-119

46. New literature since project
completion
 Statistically Significant Correlations between
Cumulative Undergraduate GPA, GRE Writing
Score, and FWPE scores- Western Michigan
University- Open Journal of OT- Summer 14 Volume
2, Issue 3.
 Statistically Significant Correlations between
measures of Emotional Intelligence, previous
experience in related settings, and FWPE scores
were found. San Jose State- OT in Health Care-
2013- Vol 27 n 3 pp. 201-215.

47. New literature since project
completion
 Undergraduate GPA and Science GPA best
predictors of academic success- interviews and
written essays should be assessed for reliability and
validity- but may provide better information regarding
clinical performance- McMaster University 2001-
Advances in Health Sciences Education- #6 pp. 159-175
 Generation Y and Practice Education- confident with
technology, over confident in their skill level and easily
bored. Practice educators raised concerns regarding
students’ casual communication, poor professional
behaviour, shallow professional reasoning and difficulty
when receiving negative feedback. Australian Journal of
OT 2012 – Volume 59, pp 156-163

48. References
Andonian, L. (2013). Emotional Intelligence, self-efficacy, and occupational therapy students’
fieldwork performance. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 27, 201-215. doi
10:3109/07380577.2012.73199
Agho, A.O., Mosley, B.W. & Smith-Paul, B (1998). Use of the interview in selecting students for
occupational therapy programs. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 592-
594.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2013). ACOTE March 2013 accreditation
actions. OT Practice, 18(7), 3.
Auriemma, D. (2007). Admission methods of professional occupational therapy programs in
the united states: 2001-2002. American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.,
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Bathje, M., Ozelie, R., & Deavila, E. (2014). The relationship between admission criteria and
fieldwork performance in a masters-level OT program: Implications for admission. Open
Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2, Issue 3.

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50. References
Grice, K.O., (2014). Use of multiple mini-interviews for occupational therapy
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51. References
Kirchner, G.L., Stone, R.G., & Holm, M.B. (2000). Use of admission
criteria to predict performance of students in an entry-level
master’s program on fieldwork placements and in academic
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52. References
Salvatore, P. (2001). Reliability and validity of admissions tools
used to select students for the health professions. Advances in
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U.S. News and World Report. (2014). The Top 100 Best Jobs.
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53. Copyright Statement
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without permission