Physical Therapy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-17-2025

Abstract

Introduction: The US Physical therapist (PT) workforce lacks racial and ethnic diversity, which may contribute to health disparities. Holistic review (HR) admission methods may improve workforce diversity by evaluating applicants' academic metrics, experiences, and personal attributes. Holistic review processes must adapt following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling prohibiting race-based admission criteria.

Review of literature: Holistic review criteria are program-specific and align with institutional and programmatic goals. While HR is shown to improve student body diversity, most PT education programs heavily emphasize academic metrics, which may disadvantage racial and ethnic minority (REM) applicants from acceptance. This study examines the racial and ethnic distributions of PT education program applicants and matriculants before and after implementing a race-neutral HR rubric where academics and experiences were equally weighted.

Subjects: The sample included 848 qualified applicants to a PT education program in 2 consecutive admission cycles.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed the racial and ethnic distributions of qualified applicants ranked by verbal Graduate Record Exam (vGRE) and HR rubric scores. Chi-square tests assessed differences in racial and ethnic frequencies between qualified applicants Invited to Interview (ITI) or waitlisted for interview and differences between matriculating cohorts.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in the frequencies of White/non-Hispanic applicants who were ITI versus waitlisted for interview when ranked by verbal GRE, with White/non-Hispanic applicants more represented in the ITI pool. There were no differences in the racial and ethnic frequencies of applicants who were ITI versus waitlisted for interview after HR implementation, and no differences were found between matriculated cohorts.

Discussion and conclusion: Race-neutral HR promotes equitable admissions and reduces bias against REM applicants. Although REM representation increased in the matriculated cohort, adjustments to HR weighting may further enhance diversity. These findings support the broader use of race-neutral HR in PT admissions after the affirmative action ban.

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Publication Title

Journal of Physical Therapy Education

DOI

10.1097/JTE.0000000000000413

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