University apologizes for 430 mistaken acceptance emails

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A Florida university said "human error" was to blame for about 430 acceptance emails being mistakenly sent out to applicants.

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg confirmed about 430 applicants received mistaken acceptance emails Saturday, followed by another email about an hour later reading: "There was an error in the system. Please disregard the previous email."

The school said "human error" was to blame for the incident.

"We apologize to all of the affected students and their families and are taking immediate steps to ensure this never happens again," the school said in a statement. "We will reach out to every individual student who received the incorrect email to discuss possible pathways for admission to USF St. Petersburg in the future."

University spokeswoman Carrie O'Brion said a staff member incorrectly believed a spreadsheet of applicants' names had already been sorted, but only discovered after the email was sent that the list included students who were admitted as well as those whose applications were rejected.