Widening participation – a comparison of the characteristics of successful UK applicants to the five-year and four-year dental programmes in 2007 and 2008

Abstract

To compare the demographics (age, sex, ethnicity, social status, disability, country/region) and academic experience (school type) of accepted UK applicants to the five-year and four-year dental programmes in 2007 and 2008. Retrospective descriptive analysis was carried out on the University and College Admissions Services (UCAS) data for accepted UK applicants to the five- and four-year dental programmes at UK dental schools in the years 2007 and 2008. Logistic regression was used to model the outcome of dental admission to programmes (four-year vs five-year), controlling for the other explanatory variables. Data were analysed using SPSS v19. In the years 2007 and 2008 over 2,000 UK applicants were accepted on to a dental course (n = 2,274) within the UK. Of these accepted applicants, 84% (n = 1,903) were accepted onto a five-year and 14% (n = 322) onto a four-year, programme. Over half were female for both the five- and four-year programmes (58% cf 59% respectively). One tenth of students accepted to the five-year programme were 'mature' (n = 173) and nearly all of the students to the four-year programme (n = 321). Similar proportions of accepted applicants to both programmes were from minority ethnic groups (46%), with the majority of students being of White or Asian background; however, the four-year programmes accepted a higher proportion of black (4% cf 1%) and 'other' minority ethnic students (8% cf 3%) when compared with the five-year programme. A higher proportion of accepted students to the four-year programmes came from the lowest 'higher/further education participation areas' (POLAR2 groups 1-3) than the five-year programmes (38% cf 28%). Proportionally more accepted applicants to the four-year programmes came from London than the five-year programmes (30%, cf 20%). In contrast, a greater proportion of accepted applicants to the five-year programmes came from Scotland (13% cf 6%), Northern Ireland (9% cf 0%) and Wales (4% cf 2%). When all other factors were controlled, the odds of being accepted to the four-year rather than the five-year programme were higher if the applicants were mature and from Greater London. There is little definitive evidence that graduate entry programmes widen access to dentistry when compared with the traditional five-year programme; however, the findings do highlight geographic disparities in access to graduate entry programmes, which are important for policy makers and schools to consider.