Recruitment and Retention of Students From Minority Groups

AbstractBackground and Purpose. Studies have identified strategies used in physical therapist education to recruit and retain students from minority groups. However, physical therapist education has evolved since these studies were published. The purpose of this study was to examine current practice in recruiting and retaining students from minority groups. Subjects. Seventy program directors of programs offering master’s or doctoral degrees in physical therapy responded to a survey. Methods. The survey questionnaire requested information on program demographics, numbers of applicants, students and graduates from minority groups, and recruitment and retention strategies utilized. The most frequently used strategies were identified. Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed to determine which strategies were associated with better recruitment and retention of students from minority groups. Results. Fifty programs made a special effort to recruit and retain students from minority groups. Nine recruitment strategies and 3 retention activities were associated with programs having higher proportions of minority applicants, students, and graduates. Discussion and Conclusion. The most frequently used strategies were incongruent with the strategies used by programs with higher proportions of applicants, students, and graduates from minority groups. This study provides information to help physical therapist educators determine which strategies help recruit and retain students from minority groups. [Haskins AR, Kirk-Sanchez N. Recruitment and retention of students from minority groups.]

Download Full-text

Minority Recruitment and Retention Strategies in Physical Therapist Education Programs

Journal of Physical Therapy Education ◽

10.1097/00001416-200301000-00004 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 18-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Pablo E Splenser ◽

Liza H Canlas ◽

Barbara Sanders ◽

Barbara Melzer

Keyword(s):

Physical Therapist ◽

Minority Recruitment ◽

Education Programs ◽

Retention Strategies ◽

Recruitment And Retention ◽

Physical Therapist Education ◽

Therapist Education

Download Full-text

Impact of Faculty and Programmatic Resources on the Proportion of Academic Doctoral Degrees in Professional Physical Therapist Education Programs

Physical Therapy ◽

10.1093/ptj/pzab030 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tara Dickson ◽

Beth Deschenes ◽

Peggy Gleeson ◽

Jason Zafereo

Keyword(s):

Professional Education ◽

Higher Education Policy ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Physical Therapist ◽

Doctoral Degree ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Doctoral Degrees ◽

Physical Therapist Education ◽

Core Faculty ◽

Therapist Education

Abstract Objective The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education has introduced a requirement that 50% of core faculty members in a physical therapist education program have an academic doctoral degree, which many programs are not currently meeting. Competition between programs for prestige and resources may explain the discrepancy of academic achievement among faculty despite accreditation standards. The purpose of this study was to identify faculty and program characteristics that are predictive of programs having a higher percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees. Methods Yearly accreditation data from 231 programs for a 10-year period were used in a fixed-effects panel analysis. Results For a 1 percentage point increase in the number of core faculty members, a program can expect a decline in academic doctoral degrees by 14% with all other variables held constant. For a 1% increase in either reported total cost or expenses per student, a program could expect a 7% decline in academic doctoral degrees with all other variables held constant. Programs that have been accredited for a longer period of time could expect to have proportionately more faculty members with academic doctoral degrees. Conclusions Programs may be increasing their core faculty size to allow faculty with academic doctoral degrees to focus on scholarly productivity. The percentage of faculty with academic doctoral degrees declines as programs increase tuition and expenditures, but this may be due to programs’ tendency to stratify individuals (including part-time core faculty) into teaching- and research-focused efforts to maximize their research prowess and status. Impact This study illuminates existing relationships between physical therapist faculty staffing, time spent in research versus teaching, and program finances. The results of this study should be used to inform higher education policy initiatives aimed to lower competitive pressures and the costs of professional education.

Download Full-text