Beyond the 92% Cut-Off: Rethinking Nursing Admissions at McMaster
Casper was first developed and implemented at McMaster University’s medical school, with a clear focus on assessing professional and interpersonal competencies. As demand for nursing education grew, McMaster extended Casper to its collaborative Bachelor of Nursing program, delivered across McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Conestoga College. The goal was to strengthen admissions decisions by better identifying applicants who demonstrate the values, behaviours, and judgment expected of entry-to-practice nurses.
Challenge
Selecting nursing candidates fairly in a competitive admissions process when grades alone can’t capture essential professional competencies
Solution
Results
Broader access to admission for qualified applicants, improved alignment with nursing competencies, and a more equitable selection process
PROGRAM TYPE
Bachelor of Nursing
PROGRAM SIZE
~1,500 applicants per year across three collaborative sites
REGION
North America – Canada
Challenge
McMaster’s Bachelor of Nursing program is highly competitive, with admission averages rising steadily over time. While academic performance remained important, admissions leaders recognized that grades alone could not fully reflect the qualities it takes to be a great nurse.
The program needed to address several challenges:
- Admissions decisions relied almost entirely on academic averages, leaving little room to assess non-academic strengths
- Highly qualified applicants with slightly lower grades had limited opportunities to demonstrate readiness to practice nursing
- Faculty and staff sought a fairer way to assess competencies such as empathy, ethics, communication, resilience, and collaboration
- The program needed an approach that aligned admissions decisions with professional nursing standards in Ontario
McMaster required a solution that could support large applicant volumes while expanding the definition of merit beyond grades.
Solution
McMaster University’s School of Nursing adopted Casper to introduce structured, non-academic assessment into its admissions process, tailored specifically to nursing education.
This enabled the program to strengthen admissions in the following ways:
Defining nursing-relevant competencies
- Engages faculty across all three sites in blueprinting exercises to identify core nursing characteristics
- Narrows an initial list of competencies to a focused set aligned with entry-to-practice expectations
Assessing non-academic skills at scale
- Uses realistic, profession-relevant scenarios to evaluate applicants’ judgment, ethics, communication, and empathy
- Applies standardized scoring supported by multiple independent raters
Balancing academic and non-academic criteria
- Considers Casper scores alongside academic averages, with a minimum academic threshold
- Creates opportunities for strong candidates to demonstrate readiness beyond grades alone
Supporting accessibility and applicant experience
- Offers multiple test dates and time slots to accommodate applicants across schedules and time zones
Results
Through a more holistic admissions approach, McMaster University’s School of Nursing strengthened fairness, broadened access, and better aligned selection decisions with the realities of nursing education and practice.
The program observed several outcomes:
- More applicants below previous grade cut-offs received offers based on strong Casper performance
- Improved alignment between admissions decisions and nursing competencies defined by the College of Nurses of Ontario
- Positive applicant and parent response to the inclusion of criteria beyond grades
- Consistent applicant volumes, indicating Casper did not deter qualified candidates