Preadmission predictors of academic performance in a pharmacy program: A longitudinal, multi-cohort study

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Academic Performance Prediction

Background:

• Undergraduate pharmacy programs aim to train competent practitioners.
• Predicting student success is crucial for program quality and student support.
• The role of preadmission factors in pharmacy academic performance requires ongoing investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the predictive power of a preadmission health science program on undergraduate pharmacy academic performance.
• To determine the influence of demographic variables on student success throughout a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) program.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study of 557 students admitted to the BPharm program (2008-2012).
• Regression analyses were used to correlate preadmission data (GPA, demographics) with BPharm GPA.
• Data included health science GPA, sex, age, ethnicity, residency, and high school qualifications.

Main Results:

• Preadmission factors significantly predicted BPharm GPA, explaining 57%, 43%, and 38% of variance in years two, three, and four, respectively.
• Male students, those from certain minority ethnic groups, and those lacking specific domestic high school qualifications showed lower GPAs.
• High completion rates (96.6%) were observed for the BPharm degree.

Conclusions:

• Preadmission academic performance is a valuable, though not sole, predictor of early pharmacy program success.
• Additional selection measures may be beneficial for predicting performance beyond the first year.
• Demographic factors are associated with academic outcomes in pharmacy education.