How UT Health San Antonio’s School of Nursing Is Diversifying Its Student Body with Kira

Posted On Apr 21, 2020 By admin With Comments Off

UT Health San Antonio is the only academic health science center in South Texas and its School of Nursing is one of merely two public institutions in the state offering a Doctor of Nursing Practice( BSN to DNP) program.

With a changing alumnu network of more than 11,000 graduates, the School of Nursing aims to develop healthcare professionals that indicate the community they serve.

UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing’s Path to Holistic Admission

“When I started in the fall of 2017, one of the harbour school’s purposes was to move graduate and undergraduate programmes a more holistic refresh, ” interpreted Henry Cantu, Director of Admissions and Special Programs at the School of Nursing.

In the past, entrants had to meet particularly determined requirements relating to traditional metrics such as GPAs and research ratings. When eligible applicants exploited, the School of Nursing would first check to make sure they had the minimum requirements and then applicants were graded by GPA, experiment composition, and a limited number of other criteria.

“There was no opportunity to consider other factors in an applicant’s profile, ” said Cantu.

In the interest of finding the best possible candidates and improving a more diverse student cohort, Cantu followed a more holistic admittances process with the backing of his forward-thinking dean.

Unexpected Barriers In the New Process

As part of the switch to holistic admissions, the School of Nursing established an interrogation component where graduate planned entrants were asked to come to campus.

As part of UT Health San Antonio’s transformation to holistic admissions, the School of Nursing began inviting campaigners to on-campus interrogations.

While the admittances committee affection the brand-new insights into their candidates, they realized that many of the applicants, particularly those from outside of the city, were less likely to come for the interview.

Because prospective students were being asked to take time off their jobs and spend their own money on tour and housing, the interview process became a deterrent for many qualified candidates.

“We lost out on some very good entrants because of that characteristic, ” said Cantu.

Cantu, along with Dr. David Byrd, Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Work, began looking for a platform or program that would allow the school to conduct interviews online, finding a solution in Kira Talent.

By adding Kira, students from any location could accomplish a series of questions from their home and on their own time. No one needed to take time off work or incur expenditures to be considered for admission.

UT Health San Antonio Achieves Accessible, Holistic Admissions

Implementing Kira solved for the School of Nursing’s main challenge of creating a more accessible way to conduct interviews- but the results widened beyond that.

Since adding Kira, the School has seen an increase in student diversity, received positive feedback from faculty members and applicants, and expanded their utilization into the undergraduate programs.

1. Increase in Diversity Among Incoming Classes

Putting Cantu’s hypothesis to the test, UT Health San Antonio has seen incredible results in increasing their applicant volume and ethnic and cultural diversity.

From 2017 to 2018, their alumnu platform cohorts heard a 37% expanded in Hispanic/ Latino students which was a key expansion neighborhood for the school.

2. Positive Faculty& Applicant Feedback

Not only was Kira able to help boost diversity, students and faculty alike enjoy squandering the platform.

“I had such a positive event administrating it and our module truly appreciate the facts of the case that they can score and evaluate entrants on their own time, ” said Cantu. “Applicants have also said that it was a much better experience and not as intimidating as an on-campus interview.”

3. Expansion to a School-Wide Implementation

After using Kira at the grad position, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing has opted to use era video ratings for their undergraduate planned as well.

“Kira has worked beautifully. It labor so well for us at the grad height that we use it for the BSN program now as well, ” said Cantu. “We’re very excited to use it for all of our interviews”

Thank you to Henry Cantu for taking the time to share your incredible story!

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