Dissertation Abstract

Prediction of Student Completion of an Associate Degree Radiologic Technology Program (Admissions).

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the admission/selection process of the Radiologic Technology Program at East Tennessee State University to ascertain predictive validity of the admission process and to identify specific indicators leading to program completion. The population for this investigation consisted of 510 students who had applied to East Tennessee State University and the Radiologic Technology Program from 1991 through 1993. Data were collected from institutional and program academic records. Correlation research was chosen to establish validity. One-way Analysis of Variance and t-test were applied to investigate different admission parameters and discriminate analysis was completed due to prior groupings in the initial academic analysis. An alpha level of.05 was selected for this study.

The population (N = 510) consisted of four groups of students: Program completers (graduates), program non-completers, students interviewed/not admitted, and students not interviewed nor admitted. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined significant differences in all admission parameters between the four groups. Discriminate analysis of program completers and non-completers found that curriculum GPA ranking was significant explaining 47% of the shared variance. The population of students admitted to the program (N = 110) was further statistically analyzed by t-Tests and no significant differences were identified between program completers and non-completers.

Based on the findings, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) The admission parameters utilized by the Radiologic Technology Program at East Tennessee State University were statistically significant in identifying differences among the four groups of students; (2) No significant differences were identified between program completers and non-completers; (3) The admission model utilized by the Radiologic Technology Program is equitable. The following recommendations were suggested: (1) Further studies should be conducted incorporating demographic factors; (2) Studies addressing selection parameter reliability should be conducted; (3) Reliability of each interview question should be ascertained; (4) Studies involving common admission parameters at different sponsoring institutions should be investigated, and (5) Incorporation of qualitative methodology regarding program completion versus non-completion could be beneficial.

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