Thompson Rivers University says there are now 26 law students on a waitlist who were initially offered a spot for this fall.
The program was overenrolled by 42 students, but 16 of those students have now indicated they weren’t going to attend. Acceptance letters went out about two months ago, and letters went out in recent days to 42 students saying they were being put on a waitlist until September of 2022.
TRU’s Dean of Law Daleen Millard tells NL News the school sent the same number of acceptance offers this year that is has in years past. She says the difference this year was many more students accepting those offers.
“That is something that was unprecedented that we could not have predicted. If we look at the figures of the past two years, you definitely saw that students typically through the summer – even those who initially accepted – declined offers, subsequently.”
Millard says a rise in demand is a trend at law schools across North America.
“Boston College, overenrolled by 165 students. Duke University, overenrolled. Pennsylvania, California, Texas, North Carolina, and so it goes.”
She says it’s unclear why the demand is rising, but suggests more people may be looking for stability in their education and career path, post-COVID-19 pandemic.
“If this were only the case for TRU, I would’ve speculated and said ‘goodness, what on Earth would that be.’ Other than thinking that we are a good university where students really would like to be, which I still think is the case. I do think that this trend across North America must be a shift in people’s expectations,” Millard says.
Millard says she is meeting today with executive staff at TRU about the waitlist, and is asking any students hard-shipped to talk to her directly.
Reports suggest some students who accepted offers to attend the TRU law program had already finalized plans to move to Kamloops, and are now shouldering a financial and logistical burden.
The university has also refuted claims that 42 acceptance offers were rescinded, saying any student put on a waitlist after being sent an acceptance offer still has a standing offer to attend law school next year.
“There’s a lot of misinformation trending on Twitter. And I’m here to assist, really. Phone me, talk to me, tell me what you think, I can take it. I’m here to listen and I’m here to make the spaces for everybody. And that is my open invitation. I will not rest until I’ve found a solution to this.”
Asked if the university could expand its Faculty of Law to account for higher demand, Millard suggests it’s not as easy as it might sound.
“I do think that it is very important to understand the role of the law school in the broader picture. It is very important to maintain the employment rate we already have. That is 99 per cent of all graduates being employed in a position after they leave us. That tells you that our numbers are not unrealistic,” Millard says.
“If I want to grow my school, I have certain obligations also towards the legal professional. And I have to also be mindful of what the (Federation of Law Societies of Canada) requires of the law school. If I grow my numbers, I also have to grow my services to the students… I would hate for students coming in to feel they do not have the services that they pay for.”
TRU’s law school has space for 124 new students this September.
