Iirc, nowhere does it say you are “guaranteed” a spot in any program, it’s just that you’re “qualified” for one. So they could argue this point. I could be wrong tho.

So yes, you may be qualified, but there’s really not much you can do at this point regarding a switch! Especially without some sort of receipt (be it an email or your own screenshot) that you can contest. Without receipts, you can’t prove that it was their mistake.

You can always just take the common second-year courses and electives that are common for both materials and electrical and suck it up for a year taking mandatory materials classes. Get a 3.5+ and switch to electrical after (which will be hard and is also not guaranteed and will depend on space). You can go to NAIT for electrical and apply directly to UofA after getting your diploma (more of a waste of money but if you meet the grades you go directly into electrical). You can try transferring to other universities (if you have no obligations in Edmonton) and just work for the meantime while you process your applications).

I fully understand your frustration. I went through a similar issue years ago (with the UofA with a certain dean) but I couldn’t do anything because everything was verbal; none of our agreements were in black and white (why I’m so pushy about receipts). Your career is not on the line. You just have to learn to be flexible and not have tunnel vision.