Summary: After facing much criticism for requiring students and faculty to follow Christian teachings, Trinity Western University has been denied accreditation as a law school.
Kelowna Now reports that Trinity Western University, a Christian institution, has been denied accreditation as a law school. The Ministry of Education sent a letter to the school revoking approval for the law school on December 11.
Amrik Virk, the Advanced Education Minister, explained, “Based on the current situation, I have decided to revoke my approval of the proposed law school at Trinity Western University. This means the university cannot enroll any students in its proposed program. The current uncertainty over the status of the regulatory body approval means prospective graduates may not be able to be called to the bar, or practice law, in British Columbia. This is a significant change to the context in which I made my original decision. Once the legal issues are resolved, TWU will have the option to renew its request for consent.”
The law school was given the green light in April.
Understandably, officials at Trinity Western University are disappointed with the Ministry of Education’s decision. President Bob Kuhn commented, “It is difficult to conceive of a justifiable basis for the Minister to have revoked his approval of the school of law program. As a private Christian university, Trinity Western has demonstrated its place in Canada’s academic community, delivering some of Canada’s highest ranked professional programs. We remain committed to having a School of Law and now have to carefully consider all our options.”
Trinity Western University remains set on enrolling students in a law program, although a last resort may be court action: “There are such important rights and freedoms at stake that we may have no choice but to seek protection of them in court,” Kuhn added.
In June, the Law Society of New Brunswick approved the school.
In October, 5,951 attorneys voted against accrediting the school, and 2,088 lawyers voted in favor of accreditation. The school suffered major disapproval by many in the legal community after it required all students, administrators, and faculty to follow Christian teachings concerning sexuality, or rather asking students to abstain from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.” As word of the covenant spread, the school was blasted for what many felt was homophobia. In addition, many questioned the credibility of the school’s academic strength.
In October, the accreditation was reversed.
Photo credit: twu.ca