I emailed one of the contacts for the school and she stated that I could request an expedited review of my application from the director of the program. I emailed him and was informed that due to the high volume of applications this year they would not be honoring any expedited reviews as they had done in the past. I had my application materials in last July right after losing my job, so my hope was since I had been sitting so long waiting that they may honor it. This was in early February. As for the number of slots, I researched previous class sizes and found the average incoming class is 18 PhD students over the past few years. It was not delineated between full and part time, simply that each Fall they take 16-20 PhD students on. Occasionally, they take a student or two on in the Spring.
Old Dominion University is my other choice - the director of the PhD program there is fantastic - very helpful, willing to work with me on tailoring my program to my specific needs, very well-informed on many topics and on the school and area as well. I will be happy at either school to be honest. I love this entire area.