Admission Criteria as Predictors of Student Success in a Dental Hygiene Program

The aims of this study were to assess which prerequisites the dental hygiene faculty at the University of Alberta perceived as essential to success in the dental hygiene program and to determine if students' prerequisite grades and interview scores predicted their success in the program. Academic records of students admitted between 2004 and 2013 were examined in 2016 for prerequisite course grades, interview scores, and junior, senior, and cumulative grade point average (GPA). In addition, course instructors were surveyed about which prerequisites they deemed necessary for their particular subjects. The results showed that every prerequisite course was perceived as necessary at some point in the program. However, most prerequisite course grades were weak predictors of academic performance, with a moderate correlation between cumulative prerequisite GPA and the junior GPA and final cumulative GPA. The interview was also considered necessary for some preclinical and clinical courses. There was no correlation between interview scores and students' academic performance. These findings suggest that, although the interview and prerequisite GPA requirements filtered out unsuitable candidates, they did not predict which students would be successful in the program. More refined methods need to be devised to identify which students are most likely to succeed.