| Abstract/Notes |
INTRODUCTION: Admissions departments at chiropractic colleges across the United States are under continual pressure to recruit students. With changes in the health care industry, many of the schools are finding it challenging to maintain optimal enrollments. The underserved minority communities are potentially fertile recruiting grounds. METHODS: After receiving IRB approval, the Directors of Admissions of all the U.S. chiropractic colleges were contacted to set up telephone interviews. Each respondent was asked "Do you have any recruitment program that targets underserved populations?" The definition of underserved was left open for the respondent to define. A negative response terminated the interview. A positive response elicited two more questions: "Please describe your program," and "Do you feel it has been successful in recruiting students?" RESULTS: Sixteen of the seventeen colleges were successfully polled. Nine of the schools reported "no program." Of these nine, two would be better described as "no, but." Both offered scholarships for minority students, placed ads in minority publications and/or supported the ABCA through attendance at their convention. Of the seven directors who replied in the affirmative, five were working with historically black colleges and universities. Three of the schools had student chapters of the ABCA and three schools reported that multicultural activities were part of campus life. Two mentioned diversity in faculty and staff. One school incorporates multicultural faculty to make calls to prospective students who have identified themselves. Three of the schools had identified minority recruiters, persons of color whose main focus is on recruiting minority students. One school had employed a retired African American chiropractor as a recruiter. The doctor had sought out the position at the profession's education conference. One school reported an active program recruiting Hispanic students and one for Native Americans. Two of the directors reported that they believed their lack of success was due in large part to the lack of role models, both on the faculty and in the field. DISCUSSION: Prospective students' ethnicity is self-reported in the inquiry, or recruiting, stage. Applicants and students are voluntarily identified, so any report of findings will obviously be more indicative than accurate. The latest available (2003) Integrated Post Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data was used as a measure of success of the recruiting programs. For six of the seven schools that reported "no program," the percentage of students that were reported as minorities by the IPEDS definition ranged from 4.7 to 35.8. One school was not included in the IPEDS report. For those schools with reported programs, the percentage of students that reported themselves in the IPEDS minority categories ranged from 8.4% to 26% of the student body. Programs to attract minority students can be created and infrastructure can be provided but they are nearly useless without role models. Factors beyond the control of the Admissions office are often the most important determinants. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher. |
