An analysis of an admissions system: can performance in the first year of the dental course be predicted?

Abstract

The admissions process must be scrupulously fair and select the most suitable students. Data on applicants to the Manchester Dental School for the 1996/97 academic year were analysed. The aims of this project were to: describe the applicants using information from the UCAS (university entrance) form; to relate information from the UCAS form to interview performance and A-level results; and to evaluate whether these factors can predict performance during the first year of the course.

Evidence-informed dental student recruitment techniques

“…In addition to the broader attributes required of a clinician, experience of other schools with a similar educational philosophy have shown that it represents an opportunity to identify those students who are likely to perform best within the particular educational milieu on offer. 9 Finally, it is clear from both the published research, and from the professions regulatory body the GDC, that more is expected of oral healthcare professionals than academic and clinical skills alone. 13 If a dental school is to be a true servant to the public and profession it must place equal weighting on broader non-cognitive, interpersonal and communication skills, and less on academic skills, knowledge and performance in examinations.…”

“…7 It also fi ts with data which indicate an inverse relationship between broader, noncognitive parameters such as experience in leadership positions and a likelihood of failure. 8,9 There is undoubtedly controversy about the reliability of interviews in the student selection process, but this is a global view representing a broad range of interview techniques. When considered in greater detail, strategies which have a highly structured format, and which employ trained interviewers, have a greater predictive value when it comes to assessing an individual's 'non-cognitive' strengths.…”

Relating personality to interview results and performance in the first year of the dental course

“…A relationship was found to exist which related personality to interview results and performance in the first year of their dental course The interview marking scheme has been described in detail elsewhere as part of an analysis of the admissions system, relating interview results to performance at Alevel and during year 1 of the course. 12 The minimum overall average of those offered a place was 15, range 12-20. For the analysis those scoring overall 16 and above were rated high and <16 low.…”

“…The availability of the results from a recognised personality questionnaire presented an opportunity for us to widen the scope of our own study. 12 The Orpheus personality profile has undergone extensive validation processes for all types of individual and is only available under licence therefore it was considered unnecessary for further validation to be undertaken for this study.…”

“…7, APRIL 10 1999 351 EDUCATION student selection modelling results for Semester 2, results for Semester 1 were included in the model; this has been shown to be statistically, significantly related to success in Semester 2. 12 The only important factors that could predict performance in Semester 1 were whether students had A-level biology (odds ratio (OR) 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13-0.85) and high score for the factor of 'authority' (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.02-1.54). However in Semester 2 those who failed in the first Semester were more likely to fail again (OR 10.02, 95% CI 3.85-26.10) and students with high score for 'detail' were less likely to fail (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04-0.91).…”