Admissions Report: Class of 2018

Simon Cameron (2L)

The recently concluded Federal election saw a record number of Indigenous MPs sent to Ottawa. The same cannot be said for the Faculty of Law. The Class of 2018 saw just two Aboriginal students registered, the lowest number in the six years of data available to Ultra Vires. This low also comes despite the Faculty of Law having received more applications from Aboriginal students than in any other year over that same time period.

These figures were published in the annual “Admissions and Enrolment Report, 2015-2016” presented by the Admissions Committee to Faculty Council on October 2. The Annual Report breaks down the applications received, offers made, and students enrolled among several demographics.

These figures reveal that the demographics of the entering class have shifted considerably over the past six years. One significant change has occurred in the number of mature students enrolled. Only four mature students were registered in the Class of 2018, a drop from a high of twenty-one in the Class of 2015. The Annual Report does not detail how many offers were extended to mature students.

The lows in Aboriginal and mature student enrolment come despite the class size at the Faculty of Law reaching a record high as an increasing number of offers are made overall. In 2010 the entering class numbered 193 students, by 2015 that number had risen to 209.