Applications for the Radiological Program at Moorpark College are being chosen not based on merit or experience, but through a randomized lottery system. In addition applicants who are chosen are placed on a wait list pool for full admission.

“I’d like to understand exactly how this lottery system works, and there isn’t any clarification,” said 34-year-old Moorpark College student Edwin Lara. “I want to know what impact the wait list time has on my career future.

Getting into the curriculum is very competitive. However, an overall GPA of 2.5 on all attempted college coursework is all that is required to apply, with all GPA’s having equal chances for selection. This means that applicants are admitted based on the luck of the draw.

“I am a certified radiologist in the Philippines,” said 25-year-old Moorpark College student Kevin Paragas. “My training should have some impact on my admission into the program, but it doesn’t.”

Once someone is placed on the wait list no further background check is done on that person, according to Health Science Counselor Lydia Basmajian.

“At the present time there are 155 students on the wait list,” said Health Science Counselor Lydia Basmajian. “This includes students that applied during the 2014 application process.”

The current program has a completion rate of 75 percent, and the adaptation of some kind of merit system has been non-existent since the program’s creation in 1990. While choosing more academically qualified students could enhance the program’s success rate, there is currently no such priority given.

In 2008, the Nursing Program implemented the Merit-Based Admission Policy, Education Code Section 78261.3. This legislation was intended to facilitate a higher completion rate in the nursing program and choose the best candidates for the program based on merit and credentials, not chance.

“We need state approval [for an RADT merit system],” said Health Science Counselor Lydia Basmajian. “That has not happened yet.”

With luck currently taking precedence over academic achievement, students at Moorpark College wishing to enter the RADT program will need to keep their fingers and toes crossed for the lottery to work in their favor.