Factors Influencing a Student's Choice of a Graduate Professional Athletic Training Program

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

DOI

10.4085/150119115

Publication Title

Athletic Training Education Journal

Volume

15

Issue

3

Pages

177-185

Abstract

Context

As the professional degree in athletic training transitions to the master's level, a growing concern for programs is enrollment. Understanding the factors that influence a student's choice of a graduate program in athletic training will provide institutions with vital information for marketing and enrollment management.

Objective

To explore factors that influence a student's choice of a professional graduate athletic training program.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Online survey.

Patients or Other Participants

A total of 52 participants from a convenience sample of 140 graduate students enrolled in a graduate professional athletic training program completed the survey: 43 females (82.7%) and 9 males (17.3%).

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection took place over 4 weeks between April and May 2019. Participants completed an online questionnaire that consisted of 11 demographic items, 6 Likert-scale items about factors that may have influenced school choice, and 2 open-ended questions about career goals and pursuing a doctoral degree. We calculated descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, and percentages.

Results

Factors ranked as very important in influencing a student's choice fell within the categories of athletic training program and athletic training program faculty. Those ranked as not important were related to ethnicity and gender. Additionally, over half of the participants indicated an intended career path within the college or professional setting.

Conclusions

Although a variety of factors can influence a student's choice of graduate school, today's consumer seems mostly interested in program factors such as Board of Certification pass rate, accreditation status, and clinical sites. As programs transition to the graduate level, marketing and recruitment strategies should be designed around these factors to ensure enrollment.

Comments

© 2020 National Athletic Trainer's Association.

Link included with the permission of the publisher.

ORCID

0000-0003-3171-9141 (Cavallario)

Original Publication Citation

Dearie, A., Van Langen, D., Cavallario, J. M., & Comins, S. A. (2020). Factors influencing a student's choice of a graduate professional athletic training program. Athletic Training Education Journal, 15(3), 177-185. https://doi.org/10.4085/150119115

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