Welcome to the new AACRAO website. While the site is live, development is ongoing, visitors can expect updates and new features in the weeks ahead.

Mobile Nav
Log in
Join
Get Involved

You must be logged in to view this content. Please login or learn more about joining AACRAO. If you have any questions or experience any issues logging in, please reach out to us atmembership@aacrao.org.

Log In Join

Topics

,

Article Type

Article Abstract

Related Issue:

Nursing programs across North America are typically significantly oversubscribed, resulting in inflated admitting averages thus making it an unattainable profession for many qualified students. This article proposes a lottery-based admissions process, whereby students who meet established selected criteria for entry would be selected at random until all seats are filled. This would allow all qualified applicants equal chance of admission, and may address issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and may lessen some of the significant burden on prospective applicants.

Author(s)

laing-c--s

Catherine Laing, R.N., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. Together with the dean and manager of
undergraduate/graduate programs, she is responsible for enrollment targets, admissions processes, and operations within the undergraduate nursing program. Dr. Laing has an extensive background in clinical, educational, and administrative areas in
healthcare, and has focused her research program in the areas of pediatric oncology, social return on investment, and innovative healthcare delivery approaches. She is active at the local, national, and international levels of pediatric oncology
nursing and nursing administration.

davidson-s--sm

Sandra Davidson, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. In this role she is responsible for administrative leadership and operational oversight of this
research-intensive faculty of nursing. Over her 25-year career in nursing, she has served in a wide range of academic and practice environments that span private, for-profit; public, not-for profit, and both large and small public universities in
Canada and the United States. She is widely regarded as a thought leader and scholar in the areas of healthcare education, innovation, and leadership. Her program of research is focused on educational innovations and health systems
transformation in older adult care and chronic disease care.

mackay-c--sm

Carrie MacKay, M.B.A., is the Manager of Undergraduate Programs and Graduate Programs in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. In collaboration with the Associate Deans and Dean, she manages the
operational aspects of the program, including program advising, enrollment targets, admissions, recruitment, and program progression as well as completion for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Her background includes extensive experience
in the Office of the Registrar and strategic enrollment management.

References

AACRAO. See American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offers.

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offers. n.d. Resources. Washington, D.C.: Author.

Brenan, M. 2018. Nurses again outpace other professions for honesty, ethics. Gallup. December 20.

CASN. See Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. 2012. Ties That Bind: The Evolution of Education of Professional Nursing in Canada from the 17th to 21st Century. Ottawa, ON:
Author.

Dolence, M. G. 1993. Strategic Enrollment Management: A Primer for Campus Administrators. Washington, D.C.: American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions
Officers.

Finger, L., and T. Gift. 2019. Some people want lottery-based admissions. That’s a terrible idea. The Chronicle of Higher
Education. April 1.

Glazer, G., J. Danek, J. Michaels, K. Bankston, M. Fair, S. Johnson, and M. Nivet. 2014. Holistic Admission in the Health Professions: Findings From a National Survey.
Washington, D.C.: Urban Universities for HEALTH.

Grant, B. 2007. Student selection and placement in Turkish higher education. The Vocational Aspect of Education. 42(113):
119–123.

Hess, F. 2019. A modest proposal regarding college admissions. Forbes. March 15.

Hossler, D., and D. Kalsbeek. 2013. Enrollment management and managing enrollments: Revisiting the context for institutional strategy. Strategic Enrollment Management
Quarterly. 1(1): 5–25.

Kamanetz, A. 2019. What if elite colleges switched to a lottery for admissions? NPR. March 27.

Kavilanz, P. 2018. Nursing schools are rejecting thousands of applicants—in the middle of a nursing shortage. CNN Business. April 30.

Luthar, S. S., P. J. Small, and L. Ciciolla. 2017. Adolescents from upper middle class communities: Substance misuse and addiction across early adulthood. Development and
Psychopathology. 30(1): 315–335.

Lyons, D. E., W. Phillips, and L. R. Santos. 2005. Motivation is not enough. Behavioural and Brain Sciences. 28(5): 708.

Mintz, S. 2020. Why it’s so difficult to get into nursing programs. Inside Higher Ed. July 20.

National League for Nursing. 2020. Biennial Survey of Schools of Nursing: Percentage of Qualified Applications Turned Away by Program Type, 2020. Washington, D.C.:
Author.

OECD. See Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2019. Canada. February 1.

Schwartz, B. 2019. Do college admissions by lottery. Behavioral Scientist. June 4.

Statistics Canada. 2017. Education in Canada: Key Results from the 2016 Census.

Stone, P. 2013. Access to higher education by luck of the draw. Comparative Education Review. 57(3): 577–599.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 2015. Honoring the Truth Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada. Winnipeg, CA: Author.

Warikoo, N. K. 2016. The Diversity Bargain: And Other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Warikoo, N. 2019. Why elite colleges should use a lottery to admit students. The Conversation. January 8.

Endnotes

  1. Some universities require prospective students to include a profile along with their application.
  2. For consistency we will refer to Faculties of Nursing and universities only, recognizing that baccalaureate nursing programs are also offered from Schools of Nursing and colleges.

Related Posts

See all Posts