Impact of Admission Criteria in Undergraduate Radiologic Sciences Programs and Student Succes

Programs in the radiologic sciences are typically very competitive. Often there are more applicants than available positions in these professional programs, making it imperative selection criteria are valid and reliable predictors of potential student success. As criteria are often used in combination and, usually, unequally weighted, the relationship between criteria and actual success of selected students should be established. This study was conducted at a private four-year university located in the Midwest United States; it explored the relationship between admission criteria (both statistical and non-cognitive) and documented student success (retention, program completion, and successful credentialing). When all radiologic science majors were considered collectively, statistically significant correlations were found between GPAs and in-program success but showed no statistical significance when end-of-program success was considered. Correlations between non-cognitive criteria and in-program success were weak and positive with no statistical significance, while correlations between criteria and end-of-program success were weak and both negative and positive for varied criteria. As confounding variables such as gender, age, ethnicity, and English Language Learner (ELL) status were considered, the only variable not showing strong influence on student success was age. This study revealed strong influence on success by gender, ethnicity, and ELL status.