It’s back to school for Red Deer College students, and an exciting school year is awaiting them.
With over 7,500 students in attendance at the College, both new and returning, students will benefit from the College’s strong mix of over 100 programs, including two new program opportunities, officials say.
The Instrumentation Engineering Technology Diploma and the Human Resources Management Graduate Certificate are both new to RDC this fall.
“The Instrumentation Technology Diploma program is a two-year program in trades and technologies, and then the Donald School of Business is beginning the Human Resources Graduate Certificate. It’s a one-year program designed for people who already have a degree in a field like history or literature or political science to come back and hone their skills and become certified in the human resources area,” said Steven Lane, associate vice president academic.
He said the two programs are great examples of the diverse offerings at Red Deer College.
“Through rigorous planning and collaboration with our industry partners, we have developed two unique programs that provide students with theoretical and applied learnings that will be invaluable as they transition into their future careers,” he said.
President and CEO of RDC, Joel Ward said their popular programs continue to have waiting lists every single year, whether it’s the nursing program, their bachelor of education program or their business administration program.
And it’s not just new programs for the College.
Ward said they are expecting an answer on university and degree granting status this year.
“Our ability to grant our own degrees means there will be significant impact on this institution and our region both economically, culturally and socially. We think this will be the most significant change in the history of this college after 54 years in the business.”
He said the College also has new facilities and new opportunities for learners.
“We are opening next year, and we started construction on, our Alternative Energy Lab which is really an incredible piece of new addition to our institution,” said Ward.
The lab is expected to be ready in spring of 2018, and will be used for teaching, demonstration and applied research.
In addition, students will also be able to take advantage of the fully renovated and expanded Makerspace, which opened on Sept. 5th in the Library Information Common on the main campus.
Students and members of the community will be able to use the wide variety of equipment in the Makerspace to find creative and innovative solutions to complex and everyday problems.
“RDC is taking important steps forward for innovation, applied research and sustainability. The Makerspace and the Alternative Energy Lab are going to provide a wealth of opportunities for students to get incredible hands-on experiences. This will help them with their studies and when they become the leaders and entrepreneurs of the future,” said Ward.
With around 7,500 students on campus, 5,000 in credit programs and 2,500 in Trades programs, 85% of RDC graduates find employment within six months of finishing program study, officials add.
