Photo: Castanet Staff

Dozens of students who were told they'd got into law school at Thompson Rivers University for September have been told they're no longer accepted, and their studies won't be getting underway this fall.

In a statement, the university confirmed its law school is unable to fulfill acceptance letters for 42 law students.

Daleen Millard, dean for TRU’s Faculty of Law, said the school extended the same number of offers for fall 2021 as it did in previous years, but this year brought an increased demand for program seats.

“We’ve just been overwhelmed by acceptances, and that’s not something that we’re entirely used to,” Millard told Castanet Kamloops.

“It's something that is not easily predicted. It's only this year, from an unprecedented number of applications we’ve had an unprecedented number of acceptances.”

According to a statement from the university, it’s common for post-secondary institutions to accept more students than seats available, as some students will make the decision to study elsewhere.

TRU said this ensures the programs have all seats filled when students make alternative decisions.

However, this year, the acceptance rate has been much higher, a trend that Millard said seems to be occurring at other institutions as well.

“We have reason to believe that most schools in Canada are in fact oversubscribed. And we decided to tell students sooner rather than later, so that they could decide what their options are,” Millard said.

Millard said they have told prospective students they have the option to defer their acceptance until the 2022-2023 academic year.

Students can also wait to see how the situation develops, as Millard said she believes “there will be a lot of movement” before classes start in the fall. If seats open up, she said, the wait-listed students would be given the opportunity to begin their studies.

“We’ve been talking to students and we’ve invited them to contact me personally so we can talk through their difficulties and their fears, and where they are with the situation. And in fact, there are already a few of them who have said to us that they have decided to not come to TRU,” Millard said.

She said opening up more seats or offering online classes wasn’t something the university could offer.

“Physical space is such that you can't have a crowded classroom,” Millard said, adding that WorkSafe regulations dictate how many students are able to be in a space.

“We have got a small team of very dedicated professors who concentrate very much in oral advocacy skills. And that is the sort of thing that's best taught in a face to face kind of environment. I know that all my staff and faculty are well positioned to run online law school, we've all been through the exercise, but I think there are better ways to do it.”

Millard said if there are people who received notification they are on the wait list who are feeling overwhelmed or concerned, they can reach out to her.

“Talk to me, tell me where you’re at, so that we can see if there’s anything that can be done,” she said.