Certificate in Business

at Red Deer Polytechnic Canada

The RDC program is a modified first year of study that provides credit for the first year of Bachelor of Science Agriculture. It is strongly recommended that students complete all junior requirements before taking senior courses.

University Transfer Program
Students in BSc Agriculture will choose a major from Agricultural and Resource Economics, Animal Science, Crop Science, or Sustainable Agricultural Systems.

Transfer Features
The courses in this program can be transferred in full to BSc Agriculture at the University of Alberta. Refer to the University of Alberta calendar for the complete listing of courses under the Faculty of Agricultural, Life, and Environmental Sciences. Please note that these credits are U of A credits.

This program delivered over two academic years prepares the graduate to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) following graduation and successful completion of the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam. As a LPN, the graduate will provide nursing care in a variety of health care settings, such as hospitals, the community and other health care agencies.

The program prepares the graduate to become an Occupational and/or Physical Therapist Assistant and is delivered over five academic terms. Upon
graduation, students will be prepared to work as an Occupational and/or Physical Therapist Assistant. Program outcomes are designed to enable successful transition to the role of the Occupational and/or Physical Therapist Assistant, assisting students to:

• apply a variety of communication strategies to effectively and respectfully build positive relationships through verbal, nonverbal, written and technological means with clients, families, care providers, and other stakeholders
• establish positive, effective, and collaborative relationships with an inter-professional team and others to achieve optimal client care.
• manage time and prioritize competing priorities in collaboration with occupational therapists, physical therapists and support the delivery of effective and efficient practice
• responsibly advocate, encourage change, and promote the health and well-being of clients, communities, and populations, while applying knowledge and influence within the OTA/PTA role
• maintain, enhance and share knowledge, skills and attitude through self-reflective practice, relevant goal setting, networking, quality improvement, self-care, and self-directed learning to continue to be lifelong learners
• practice in a legal, ethical and professional manner demonstrating conduct that meets expectations of members of society and the profession.
• perform responsibly and effectively through application of evidence-based disciplinary knowledge contributing to the development, implementation and modification of treatment plans while under the supervision and in collaboration with the occupational and/or physical therapist
• demonstrate sensitivity to the individual’s culture, diversity, and abilities by establishing, developing, fostering, maintaining and bringing closure to client-centered, positive therapeutic relationships
• collect, document and complete client records in a thorough, objective, accurate, confidential, and nonjudgmental manner. Through effective interpretation and communication of this data, students will participate in determining client progress toward specific outcomes as established in the plan of care by the Occupational Therapist and/or Physical Therapist.
• recognize and apply principles that support safety in the workplace and adhere to all guidelines, procedures, protocols and standards to ensure personal safety and contribute to the safety of others.

A combined BEd/BSc program allows you to satisfy the minimum requirements of both degrees in five years. The program provides a broader science background while maintaining the teacher education component. Graduates of the combined degree are eligible to apply for Teacher Certification in the Province of Alberta and all other provinces. Red Deer College offers up to two years of these programs.

Program Content

Teaching science in secondary school requires studying a variety of subjects. For the University of Alberta, you will normally major in one of the following areas and minor in another:

1. Biological Sciences includes Biology, Botany, Entomology, Genetics, Immunology and Infection, Marine Science, Microbiology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Physiology, Zoology.
2. Mathematical Sciences includes Applied Probability, Computing Science, Mathematics, Statistics.
3. Physical Sciences includes Astronomy, Chemistry, Mathematical Physics, Physics.

Transfer to the University of Alberta after one year is required for all of these programs in order to meet the U of A Faculty of Science residency requirement.

The Accredited Medical Laboratory Assistant program is designed to produce health care professionals who have the basic technical and theoretical skills to work in heathcare laboratories.  Their duties consist mainly of sample collection, specimen processing and various clinical laboratory procedures.  Graduates will attain all the specified MLA competencies that are outlined by the Canadian Society of Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS).  They will be eligible to write the CSMLS MLA exam and obtain national certification.

The program is completed over 29 weeks and includes classroom and laboratory study on campus and a 7 week practicum off campus for clinical laboratory training.  Students are trained to collect, process, and prepare patient specimens, enter data, perform clerical and reception services, perform electrocardiograms and urinalysis, and carry out basic laboratory procedures. During practicum experience, students will address a selection of competencies in simulation labs.

Program outcomes are designed to enable successful transition to the role of the Medical Lab Assistant, assisting students to:

• Perform safe work practices according to established safety protocols, guidelines, and legislation
• Verify relevant data and patient information to ensure that appropriate specimens are collected and handled correctly
• Perform pre-analytical procedures and laboratory testing on a variety of specimens through the use of equipment according to established protocols
• Apply a variety of communication strategies, teamwork skills, and inter-professional collaboration to effectively and respectfully build positive relationships with patients/clients and other healthcare professionals
• Practice and promote the principles of quality management systems
• Practice in a legal, ethical and professional manner, demonstrating conduct that meets expectations of laws and regulations governing the profession
• Exhibit empathy, respect, and appreciation of diversity, while protecting the patient's right to a reasonable standard of care
• Apply critical thinking skills to constructively investigate, evaluate, and problem-solve to engage in the self-reflective practice, self-care, and lifelong learning

The two-year University Arts Diploma offers students the opportunity to learn about the issues and people shaping their world through a holistic approach to knowledge that is interdisciplinary in emphasis and chronologically broad in its topics. Students are able to determine their futures through a focus on general University Arts, which allows students to concentrate on a particular area of interest within the Humanities (English, History/Classics, Philosophy) and Social Sciences (Anthropology, Communications, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology) or through one of three thematic specializations—Global Perspectives; Science and Society; Culture, Societies, and Gender—that centre on timely themes and subjects. With a choice of pathways, resulting in a University Arts Diploma, students are able to concentrate on what matters to them while gaining transferable knowledge and skills that will give them a leg up in an ever-uncertain future. In an age where intricate problems do not respond to traditional solutions, the ability to think beyond disciplinary boundaries, offer critical analysis, craft well-considered assessments, supported by adaptive thinking in pursuit of solutions, will be the foundation for students’ further educational goals or employment aspirations.

Please note: all students apply to the University Arts Diploma. Following Admission, students may, if they choose, declare a specialization in Year 1 or Year 2 prior to graduation. Specializations are noted on transcripts. Students who choose not to specialize, or who do not meet the requirements of a specialization, will graduate with the same University Arts Diploma (without a specialization noted on their transcripts).

Program Outcomes

• Recognize the provisional nature, inherent complexity, and ambiguity of knowledge.
• Acknowledge a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to local and global issues and identify the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.
• Engage in scholarly inquiry, both independently and collaboratively, to identify and investigate questions of a theoretical and applied nature using appropriate disciplinary methodologies and sources.
• Integrate knowledge and perspectives across disciplinary boundaries.
• Demonstrate intellectual integrity and academic accountability.
• Recognize reasonable objections to positions one endorses and to the arguments one uses to support their own position when presenting oral and written arguments.
• Acknowledge the diverse social, cultural, and historical forces that shape identities and values and examine personal and cultural diversity.
• Analyse and interpret historical and contemporary events, texts, and data within disciplines.
• Demonstrate collaborative, independent, and inclusive attitudes and practices.

The Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences at Red Deer College is a four-year degree program.  The program emphasizes contemporary concepts in biology and practical scientific skills applicable to both field and laboratory settings.  Students registered in this program will explore topics ranging from the level of molecules and cells to that of organisms, communities, and populations.  The Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences is intended to prepare graduates for employment in biology-related fields or for continued education within graduate programs or at professional schools.

Program Outcomes
At the end of this program, graduating students will be able to:

• Demonstrate competency in analytical methods.
• Assess critically one's own strengths and weaknesses in relation to areas of study and future growth.
• Develop and conduct a scientific research project using appropriate management tools, research tools, and methods.
• Communicate scientific knowledge and results clearly and succinctly through oral, visual, and written formats to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrate collaborative, independent, and inclusive attitudes and practices integrating multidisciplinary perspectives and approaches.
• Demonstrate professional conduct in all aspects of individual and team-based work.
• Construct and implement creative solutions to problems that impact society by drawing from scientific and multidisciplinary theories, principles, and methods.
• Evaluate scientific questions using the knowledge and skills from the biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences.
• Integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into scientific study with the recognition of indigenous histories, practices, and relationships.

All of your visual art instructors are professional practicing artists. We offer state-of-the-art studio spaces, fully equipped for ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing, and design. The program offers you a concentrated visual arts foundation in a two year time span.

The first year emphasizes experience in drawing, painting, design, ceramics, sculpture, art history, and English. A broad range of visual experiences will help you form a visual arts vocabulary and master skills in composition and technical areas. The second year of the program emphasizes creative growth, visual maturity in studio work as well as allowing you to experience open options to broaden your education.

Philosophy is the study of thought and reasoning, with special application to abstract and conceptual areas of enquiry typically outside of the fields of the sciences, such as the Nature of Reality or Moral Values.

Program Content
The below schedule is a general pattern that transfers to the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge. Check the Alberta Transfer Guide for transfer credit information.

Are you interested in a career in a health or wellness related field, but not sure which program you would like to study? Or perhaps you are interested in one of the Certificate or Diploma programs in Health Sciences, but do  not meet the admission requirements. The Pre-Health Sciences Certificate program is a pathway designed to give students who are interested in a health career the opportunity to explore basic concepts related to health and health care. Students may do this while taking courses in Mathematics and Biology for Health Professions that can be used for admission. The relatively low credit load of the program (22 credits) allows students the opportunity to upgrade other high school courses required for admission while they are in the Certificate program.

Students who complete this one year Certificate program will have the opportunity to explore a variety of health related careers that require either a Certificate or Diploma. They will also develop strong study skills, and, upon completion of the program and fulfilment of additional admission requirements, will be eligible to apply to the following RDC School of Health Sciences programs:

• Kinesiology Diploma
• Medical Lab Assistant Certificate
• Occupational and Physical Therapist Assistant Diploma
• Pharmacy Technician Diploma
• Practical Nurse Diploma