Community members frustrated after TRU announces plans to phase out BFA program

Students, faculty, and alumni are expressing concern after Thompson Rivers University announced plans to phase out its bachelor of fine arts (BFA) program. TRU is reportedly no longer enrolling new students in the program and plans to wind it down over the next three years. The decision was reportedly made due to low enrolment and high costs, and TRU Spokesperson Michelle Nordstrom said that the decision will not result in job losses or impact current students. TRU professors Don Lawrence and Kathleen Scherf expressed concern that closing the program would have a disproportionate impact on marginalized students and Indigenous students. TRU visual arts professor Darlene Kalynka has started a petition to keep the program running which has garnered over 2,300 signatures.