Student Recruitment Strategies in Professional Physical Therapist Education Programs

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Many economic factors have forced changes upon the profession of physical therapy, resulting in a decline of qualified applicants. The purpose of this study was to identify recruitment practices utilized by professional (entry-level) physical therapist education programs. Subjects. The subjects were chairs of professional physical therapist education programs in the United States accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) for the class entering in 2001 (N=189). Methods. A survey instrument was designed and the 53 recruitment strategies were classified as: (1) Traditional, (2) Electronic, (3) Personnel, or (4) Program Change. Results. A total of 109 programs (58%) returned completed surveys. Traditional recruitment strategies were more often utilized; however, an institutional Web page was cited as the most frequently used recruitment strategy. Faculty was more often used in recruitment efforts than recruiters, current students, or alumni. Use of an early admissions program was the most frequently cited program change strategy followed by flexible admissions standards and a change to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. Discussion and Conclusions. Of the 10 most frequently utilized strategies, 5 were Traditional, 3 were Electronic, and 2 were Personnel. While Traditional recruitment strategies continue to be utilized frequently, program administrators should scrutinize the types and varieties of Electronic, Personnel, and Program Change strategies. The wide spectrum of recruitment strategies available today, along with the potential interaction of external factors, make determination of the effectiveness of a particular strategy very difficult for college administrators. Further research is necessary to determine effectiveness of any particular strategy.