Role and nature of an interview in the selection of CUP applicants

The purposes of this research were to study the role of an interview in the selection of applicants in coordinated undergraduate programs (CUPs) in dietetics and to ascertain the nature of the interview in those programs in which it was used. A questionnaire sent to all CUP directors asked why they did or did not use an interview, the criteria used to determine which applicants would be interviewed, and the makeup of the interviewing team. Furthermore, the directors were asked to state the types of questions asked most frequently, the rationale for asking those questions, and the procedure used to evaluate applicants' responses. Finally, the directors were asked to rate the level of influence of selected factors that might be used in the decision regarding admission to CUP. The overall response rate was 81%. Results indicated that an interview is used in 80% of the programs. Difficulty in scheduling and in achieving a standardized method of evaluating an interview were the most frequently cited reasons for not using one. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents ranked an interview as high in influencing the decision regarding admission to CUP. In contrast, 90% of the respondents ranked completion of prerequisite courses and 86% ranked overall GPA as highly influential factors.