The University of Kentucky’s (UK) College of Health Sciences, which usually only admits 35 to 40 students per year, mistakenly sent 500,000 admissions emails. Some of the students who received acceptances did not apply.
What We Know:
- Jay Blanton, UK’s Chief Communications Officer, announced the school only selected a handful on the prospect list to attend the institution. He told the Lexington Herald-Leader the “vast majority” were not actually admitted. Additionally, many of the students who received the message did not express interest in the program.
- LEX18, a local news station, interviewed a few confused students. Mary Dougherty, a San Antonio, Texas senior, told the source they never applied, visited, or even browsed on UK’s website. Erin Espring, a senior from Georgia, said she had to Google the institution as she never heard of UK. Some even feared they accidentally applied and, by accepting, would be taking someone’s spot. One person said they called UK to inform them she would not be enrolling for the fall.
- The institution’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool forwarded the email, explained Blanton. The instrument normally reaches out to a prospective student list. The people on the directory are either people who want to learn more about the school or who previously applied. However, Mary Dougherty, a San Antonio, Texas senior, told LEX18 she never applied, visited, or even browsed on UK’s website. Blanton gave a statement on the system error.
“Think of it as a much more sophisticated tool than say MailChimp to send a newsletter. There has to be a platform for distribution – whether a current student or one we may be recruiting. It is a common practice in higher education,” Blanton disclosed.
- Less than 24 hours later, the university sent another email. This one was less exciting; they apologized for the mistake, citing it was a “technical issue.” Blanton apologized and stated the school regrets the communication error. Also, the institution has set up ways for these students to reach out if they are confused or need more information on the issue.
Despite the mishap, all students who should have been correctly admitted were informed.
