BACKGROUND: Residency applicants have the right to see letters of recommendation written on their behalf. It is not known whether applicants are affected by waiving this right. OBJECTIVES: Our multicenter study assessed how frequently residency applicants waived their FERPA rights to view their letters of recommendation, and whether this affected the ratings they were given by faculty. METHODS: We reviewed all ERAS-submitted letters of recommendation to 14 ACGME-accredited programs in 2006-2007. We collected ERAS ID, program name, FERPA declaration, standardized letter of recommendation (SLOR) use, and SLOR Global Assessment ranking. The percentage of applicants who waived their FERPA rights was determined. Chi-square tests of independence assessed whether applicants' decision to waive their FERPA rights was associated with their SLOR Global Assessment. RESULTS: We examined 1776 applications containing 6424 letters of recommendations. Of 2736 letters that specified a Global Assessment, 2550 (93%) applicants waived their FERPA rights, while 186 did not. Of the applicants who chose not to waive their rights, 45.6% received a ranking of Outstanding, 35.5% Excellent, 18.3% Very Good, and 1.6% Good. Of applicants who waived their FERPA rights, 35.1% received a ranking of Outstanding, 49.6% Excellent, 13.7% Very Good, and 1.6% Good. Applicants who did not waive their FERPA rights were more likely to receive an Outstanding Assessment (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: The majority (93%) of residency applicants waived their FERPA rights. Those who did not waive their rights had a statistically higher chance of receiving an Outstanding Assessment than those who did.
BACKGROUND: Residency applicants have the right to see letters of recommendation written on their behalf. It is not known whether applicants are affected by waiving this right. OBJECTIVES: Our multicenter study assessed how frequently residency applicants waived their FERPA rights to view their letters of recommendation, and whether this affected the ratings they were given by faculty. METHODS: We reviewed all ERAS-submitted letters of recommendation to 14 ACGME-accredited programs in 2006-2007. We collected ERAS ID, program name, FERPA declaration, standardized letter of recommendation (SLOR) use, and SLOR Global Assessment ranking. The percentage of applicants who waived their FERPA rights was determined. Chi-square tests of independence assessed whether applicants' decision to waive their FERPA rights was associated with their SLOR Global Assessment. RESULTS: We examined 1776 applications containing 6424 letters of recommendations. Of 2736 letters that specified a Global Assessment, 2550 (93%) applicants waived their FERPA rights, while 186 did not. Of the applicants who chose not to waive their rights, 45.6% received a ranking of Outstanding, 35.5% Excellent, 18.3% Very Good, and 1.6% Good. Of applicants who waived their FERPA rights, 35.1% received a ranking of Outstanding, 49.6% Excellent, 13.7% Very Good, and 1.6% Good. Applicants who did not waive their FERPA rights were more likely to receive an Outstanding Assessment (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: The majority (93%) of residency applicants waived their FERPA rights. Those who did not waive their rights had a statistically higher chance of receiving an Outstanding Assessment than those who did.
Authors: S M Keim; J A Rein; C Chisholm; P L Dyne; G W Hendey; N J Jouriles; R W King; W Schrading; J Salomone; G Swart; J M Wightman Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 1999-11 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Leslie C Oyama; Manon Kwon; Jorge A Fernandez; Madonna Fernández-Frackelton; Danielle D Campagne; Edward M Castillo; Michelle Lin Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2010-10 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Paul Kukulski; James Ahn; Christine Babcock; Navneet Cheema; Galeta C Clayton; Adriana S Olson; Nathan Olson; Karis L Tekwani; Keme Carter Journal: AEM Educ Train Date: 2021-02-19