The University of Calgary’s (UCalgary) Faculty of Nursing is adding a lottery system to its admission process to attract even more qualified students.
UCalgary says the implementation is because the admission average is skyrocketing due to high program demand that keeps many qualified students from applying.
“Expanding the admission criteria will open the degree to more qualified, excellent applicants who may currently be self-selecting out given the unnecessarily high admission average we currently have,” Dr. Catherine Laing, interim dean for the UCalgary Faculty of Nursing, in a news release.
Students with an overall average of 82 per cent and above in the required pre-requisite courses for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) years one and two will be entered into the nursing admission lottery.
“A computerized system will randomly select applicants at various times in the admission cycle until all seats are filled,” UCalgary says. It adds while the process is data-informed, it’s based on an analysis that shows first-year students with 82 per cent or higher have an “increased likelihood of first-year success.”
UCalgary also says it’s following in the footsteps of several universities across the world, such as in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey.
Year one BScN requires several high school classes while year two requires 30-33 units in post-secondary and 18 units in various courses; including but not limited to English, statistics, introduction to nursing, science or social sciences, and anatomy and physiology.
It is slated to take effect in the 2026-27 school year in the fall semester.
Nurses quitting early, call for better wages
UCalgary’s lottery process comes as nurses have been fighting for better wages in Alberta while many leave the field early.
A study from the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) released in September 2024 states that half of all nurses leave the profession before the age of 35, and a Canadian Nurses Association survey says 35-37 per cent of nurses leave within the first two years.
The former study says Alberta’s retention numbers are worse than the national average, where around 40 nurses are quitting for every 100 that start working. The report suggests Canada will suffer a shortage of more than 117,000 nurses by 2030.
Additionally, the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) has been calling on the Alberta government to deliver better wages to nurses in the province. Members rejected a tentative mediator’s recommendation in October.
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However, the UNA says formal mediations with Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta, Covenant Health and other employers began on Jan. 23.
According to a statement to UNA members, a third party has been appointed by Alberta Mediation Services to “try to assist UNA and the Employers to reach an agreement.”
“If there is room for a mediated settlement, the Mediator could write recommendations but the Mediator’s recommendations are not binding and either party is free to accept or reject them,” a notice from UNA chief negotiator David Harrigan.
“Any potential recommended settlement would need to be approved by a vote of UNA’s membership before becoming part of a new Provincial Collective Agreement.”
The province has added several dozen international nurses into the workforce in 2023. It has offered UNA pay increases ranging from 12 to 22 per cent over four years, but the nurses pushed back to hold their ask of 30 per cent over two years.