The California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM) is a mission-focused institution committed to addressing the physician shortage in Southern California. Founded in 2015, the university offers a Medical Doctorate (MD) program and a Master of Biomedical Sciences program, focusing on preparing future medical professionals to meet these critical needs.
“Our local area ranks in the lowest 25% in California for both physician-to-population ratio and health outcomes,” shared Peter Evland, the Executive Vice Dean for University Relations and Admissions at CUSM. “Our mission is to foster improvement and positive change by enhancing diversity in medical education. We aim to reach aspiring healthcare professionals who will return to serve their communities, enriching the field with their diverse perspectives.”
Following the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on affirmative action, CUSM implemented significant changes to their admissions process. These adjustments were designed to align with the new regulations while continuing to uphold their mission.
“We reviewed our admissions processes to ensure that we were delivering a holistic process that was race neutral,” Evland shared. “That's where Kira Talent came in.”
A team of professional reviewers trained on your rubrics
“We learned about Kira from the University of California, Irvine,” Evland shared. “We did some research and discovered how Kira’s Reviewer Services could help us create a streamlined admissions process that complies with all the new regulations.”
Reviewer Services in Kira Talent gives admissions teams access to a team of 30K+ professional raters with experience scoring for the GRE®, TOEFL®, and Praxis® tests. Reviewers are trained to score each custom Kira assessment, and are monitored in real-time for performance.
“Reviewer Services allows us to go outside the institution to score our assessments, which eliminates any potential for bias on the part of our faculty, while retaining all the benefits that come from conducting interviews,” explained Evland.
“We’re so impressed by the efficiency with which the Reviewer Services team reviewed applicants and provided us with scores.”
“For the past seven years, I’ve led, coordinated, and scheduled the applicant interview days for the CUSM MD admissions process,” shared Belinda Taylor-Batchelor, the Executive Director of University Relations and Admissions at CUSM.
“It was long and tedious work, scheduling the admissions team, applicants, and faculty over seven months. Kira has streamlined that process.”
“With Kira, we work with our faculty to prepare the interview format, questions, and process up front, so they’re still included in the process,” Taylor-Batchelor continued. “After applicants finish their assessments, Kira’s Reviewer Services takes over the scoring process and provides rubrics for our admissions committee to evaluate.”
A full suite of insights on applicant integrity
“Kira’s Applicant Integrity Metrics were the final piece of the puzzle, giving us a bird’s eye view of an applicant as they work through the written portion of their assessment,” shared Evelyn Aguirre, Assistant Director of Admissions at CUSM.
“Kira automatically alerts us of suspicious behaviours such as copy-pasting text or browser refreshes, so we can take a closer look.”
“It’s a great system,” Aguirre continued.
“Kira gives us access to all kinds of integrity data, helping us make confident and informed admissions decisions.”
An assessment designed for your applicants
“Our applicants love the flexibility Kira provides,” shared Aguirre. “They didn’t have to reschedule classes or work to attend an interview.”
“They valued how personalized the experience was,” she continued. “The integrated videos throughout the assessment created that connection, even as everything was delivered remotely.”
“An applicant reached out to us to share how much they appreciated the personal messages and questions recorded by our faculty and integrated into the assessment,” shared Taylor-Batchelor. “That means we’re doing something right.”
