Red Deer College has welcomed more than 7,500 students enrolled in programs for the 2013/14 academic year.
Enrolment is up at total of 4% overall from last year, with trades and technology seeing a significant increase of 20%.
“This is a milestone year in our history as we celebrate 50 years of serving learners and the communities of Central Alberta,” says Joel Ward, president and CEO of RDC.
“We continue to implement our bold vision for our College and region, which includes the opening of our newest learning space, City Centre Stage, in downtown Red Deer at the end of September.”
RDC’s City Centre Stage, is designed to be a community hub where culture is created as student artists, faculty, local and visiting artists and the community meet to learn, create and showcase work. It will also be a host venue for RDC classes and events like the upcoming Donald School of Business Distinguished Speaker Series in October.
“The acquisition of this new space in the heart of downtown Red Deer excites us and increases our capacity and capability to serve the needs of our communities,” says Ward. “During this summer alone, we were host to more than 19,000 community learners for workshops, courses and camps. More space means we can offer more valuable programming in central Alberta.”
Offering the right program mix to learners in the region continues to be a key priority for the College.
“What many people don’t know is that there are 2,300 students at RDC who are enrolled in University and University transfer programs that study on our campus every day – that’s one third of our student body,” says Brad Donaldson, VP Academic at RDC.
“As Central Alberta grows we need to continue to grow with it and ensure we offer the learning opportunities that our communities need to thrive.”
This semester RDC welcomes 80 international students from 24 different countries and, in addition to its 7,500 credit students, will welcome some 13,000 Continuing Education learners for corporate training and professional development to its campus this year.
-Weber
