Case Study: Dalhousie University improves fairness in nursing admissions with Acuity Insights' Casper

How the Casper Situational Judgment Test Helped Make Admissions More Fair at Dalhousie University’s School of Nursing

Dalhousie University’s School of Nursing faced a large volume of applications and relied mainly on academic criteria, which made it difficult to identify candidates with the non-academic qualities needed for nursing. With pressure to fill more seats and limited time to review files, the school needed a fairer, more holistic admissions approach. Acuity Insights provided the Casper situational judgment test to help evaluate skills like communication, empathy, resilience, and ethics alongside grades.

Using Casper, Dalhousie shifted to an admissions model weighted 60% academics and 40% Casper, which helped them make more balanced decisions and admit students who were better suited to the program and profession. The result was improved student quality, fewer complaints from applicants and parents, and faster offers in a highly competitive environment. Dalhousie began using Casper in 2017, receives about 1,600 applications per year, and increased offers from 96 previously to 115 this year.

Dalhousie University

Peggy Griffin

Assistant Registrar