TRU ‘extremely sorry’ for email

NEWS/ TRU — Thompson Rivers University has issued a retraction and apology to more than 400 people for an erroneous communication advising them they had been accepted into the Fall 2015 intake for the Bachelor of Science Nursing (BScN) degree program.

TRU said today the incorrect communication resulted from a technical error in a mail merge process in the admission office.

The email indicating acceptance to the BScN was sent Thursday. The email was mistakenly sent to a total of 504 applicants. Of these recipients, seat offers were confirmed for 103 applicants, with the remaining 401 applicants receiving the message in error, the university said.

“We are extremely sorry that this error occurred,” said Lindsay Harris, TRU interim registrar. “Retraction emails were sent to all affected applicants between 9 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. last night. Follow-up communication is a top priority and is being provided promptly.”

Harris said TRU is conducting an investigation into the error and noted that all necessary revisions will be made to reduce the risk of a recurrence.

“The application process for nursing seats is competitive throughout the province,” said Dr. Donna Murnaghan, Dean, TRU School of Nursing. “We understand how awkward this situation is and how disappointed prospective students and their families may be. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this mistake may have caused.”

Applicants affected by this error have been asked to contact Dean Murnaghan directly at 250-852-7288 or the admissions office at 250-828-5036.