SUDBURY -- Madeline Caddel recently graduated from a high school in Sudbury and was looking forward to moving to Ottawa to begin her post-secondary education at Algonquin College.
In April, she received a letter accepting her into the school’s veterinary technician program. But in June, she received another letter from the college telling her admission was revoked.
“It was pretty devastating, I was really disappointed,” said Caddel. “I worked really hard for the grades that I got and to get into the program, and it just felt like something was promised to me and got taken away.”
The school is reducing the number of students in the program, and those who had admission revoked were told it was based on either their application date, offer date or confirmation date.
“It was just who applied to the program first and who accepted their offer first ... not really based on grades or anything like that,” said Caddel.
Algonquin College administrators say a total of 75 offers of admission were issued, but due to COVID-19 and new safety protocols, the intake for the program was reduced to 45.
The school offered this statement:
“We understand that it is very disappointing that we could not offer some program levels and intakes this fall. It is important to note that this situation is evolving and our fall-term plans are adaptable.”
Not all colleges are cutting down on class sizes. Cambrian College officials said they will not be revoking any admissions.
“We’re telling people to actually accept their offer to come to Cambrian,” said college spokesperson Dan Lessard. "They are still going to have a great college experience. We are going to do theory off campus and practical hands on learning that has to be done on campus, we are making plans to continue to do that.”
Caddel said she is applying for the same program in another province, but if her acceptance is not approved, she plans on returning to high school for a victory lap.
