Abstract
BackgroundThe admissions criteria for colleges of medicine and allied health professions include several cognitive predictors. Little is known of the admissions criteria for the allied health professions and their correlation with students’ academic performance. This study investigates predictors for students’ academic achievements at allied health colleges at King Saud University.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingsCollege of Applied Medical Sciences, College of Nursing, and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz College for Emergency Medical Services, Saudi Arabia.ParticipantsThe sample comprised 1634 students.MethodThe high school grade average (HSGA), aptitude test (APT) score, achievement test (ACT) score, and current grade point average (GPA) were retrieved. The data were analysed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and regression analysis.ResultsHSGA, ACT, and APT were significantly positively associated with students’ academic performance in colleges for all allied health professions. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the most predictive variable for all allied healthcare professions was HSGA (β = 0.347), followed by ACT (β = 0.270) and APT (β = 0.053) scores. The regression model indicated that the HSGA, APT, and ACT together predicted 26.5% of the variation in students’ cumulative GPAs at the time of graduation.ConclusionThe admissions criteria for the allied health colleges at King Saud University predicted only 26.5% of the students’ cumulative GPA at the time of graduation. Other noncognitive admission criteria should be taken into consideration to improve the prediction of students’ academic potential.
Highlights
The admissions criteria for colleges of medicine and allied health professions include several cognitive predictors
The regression model indicated that the high school grade average (HSGA), aptitude test (APT), and achievement test (ACT) together predicted 26.5% of the variation in students’ cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the time of graduation
This study investigated the association between admissions criteria at King Saud University and cumulative GPA at the time of graduation for three colleges of allied health professions, namely, the College of Applied Medical Sciences (CAMS), the Nursing College, and the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz College for Emergency Medical Services (PSCEMS) in Saudi Arabia
Summary
The admissions criteria for colleges of medicine and allied health professions include several cognitive predictors. Little is known of the admissions criteria for the allied health professions and their correlation with students’ academic performance. This study investigates predictors for students’ academic achievements at allied health colleges at King Saud University. The admissions process for colleges of medicine and allied health professions has been a topic of interest in the area of higher education. Universities have invested large amounts of money in developing admission criteria with the aim of selecting appropriate candidates and maintaining a high educational standard [1]. Selection methods vary between qualitative methods such as interviews, personal statements, or emotional intelligence. Selection methods are often based on previous academic performance, aptitude tests, interviews, and personal statements [2]
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