Perceptions of the Benefits to Using a Secondary Admissions Process in Professional Bachelor's Athletic Training Programs

Abstract

Context: Some athletic training program (ATP) directors use direct admit, where students are admitted into the ATP directly out of high school. Other ATP directors admit students into the program after a set time period on campus through a secondary admissions process. It remains unknown why ATP directors use various admissions practices.Objective: To determine why ATP directors use a secondary admissions process.Design: Qualitative study.Setting: Professional bachelor's ATPs.Patients or Other Participants: We asked ATP directors from all 343 professional bachelor's ATPs to participate in an online survey. We received responses from 177 (51.6%).Main Outcome Measure(s): The survey asked participants both when students are first eligible for admission into their ATP and to explain the rationale behind their specific admissions process. We used grounded theory to analyze the data and maintained the trustworthiness of the analysis via multiple-analyst triangulation, member checks, and a peer review.Results: The majority (92.1%) of respondents used a secondary admissions process to formally select students into their ATP. The ATP directors stated that opportunities for socialization, the ability to maintain quality control, and the chance to complete general education requirements were important reasons to admit students into the ATP after they have been on campus for at least 1 semester.Conclusions: The use of a secondary admissions process appears to help ATPs provide a glimpse of the profession through observation and introductory coursework. The secondary admissions process also allows faculty and staff to evaluate student potential, while students are given time to focus on their transition to college life. We believe the timing of formal admittance to the ATP is an important decision that warrants thought and discussion between the program faculty and staff to provide curricular sequencing that works for both prospective students and the ATP faculty and staff.