title: Assessment of Communications-related Admissions Criteria in a Three-year Pharmacy Program.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if there is a correlation between TOEFL and other admissions criteria that assess communications skills (ie, PCAT variables: verbal, reading, essay, and composite), interview, and observational scores and to evaluate TOEFL and these admissions criteria as predictors of academic performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Statistical analyses included two sample t tests, multiple regression and Pearson's correlations for parametric variables, and Mann-Whitney U for nonparametric variables, which were conducted on the retrospective data of 162 students, 57 of whom were foreign-born.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The multiple regression model of the other admissions criteria on TOEFL was significant. There was no significant correlation between TOEFL scores and academic performance. However, significant correlations were found between the other admissions criteria and academic performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since TOEFL is not a significant predictor of either communication skills or academic success of foreign-born PharmD students in the program, it may be eliminated as an admissions criterion.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, Maryland.
authors.forename: Jayesh R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Parmar
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, Maryland.
authors.forename: Frederick R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Tejada
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, Maryland.
authors.forename: Lynn A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, Maryland.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Purnell
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, Maryland.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Acedera
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, Maryland.
authors.forename: Ferdinand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ngonga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D003144:Communication Barriers; D004512:Education, Pharmacy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012580:Schools, Pharmacy / Q000592:standards*; D013339:Students, Pharmacy; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 3-year pharmacy program; PCAT; TOEFL; communications; foreign-born students