BC newspaper publishes confidential TWU law degree program review

The Vancouver Province has published the full text of the April 2013 external review of Trinity Western University’s proposed law degree, observing that the 5-member panel seems to express “serious reservations,” including concerns about curriculum, academic freedom, the employability of the school’s graduates, and the impact of the mandatory community covenant on TWU’s ability to hire top-quality faculty. TWU President Bob Kuhn has responded in a statement that the Province article is “one-sided” and demonstrates little understanding of the academic review process. "It is not at all unusual for the external reviewers to raise issues or concerns with some aspects of a proposal … The article also fails to fully report that the panel concluded that in every area of review the proposal either met or exceed the required standard or met the standard on certain conditions,” Kuhn says. The TWU law school has been approved by the BC Ministry of Advanced Education and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada National Accreditation Committee, but continues to spark controversy in the legal community. Vancouver Province | TWU statement