Diploma in Justice Studies

at Red Deer Polytechnic Canada

The University Sciences Diploma at Red Deer College is a two-year diploma program emphasizing contemporary concepts and practical scientific skills applicable to both field and laboratory settings. With an initial specialization in Biological Sciences, students registered in this program will explore topics ranging from the level of molecules and cells to that of organisms, communities, and populations. The University Science Diploma will prepare graduates for transition into the final two years of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Sciences, for admission to professional schools requiring a minimum of two years of undergraduate studies, and for entry into the workforce in biology-related fields.

Program Outcomes

• Demonstrate competency in analytical methods.
• Identify one's own strengths and weaknesses in relation to areas of study and future growth.
• Develop basic scientific research projects using appropriate research methods and ethics.
• Communicate scientific knowledge 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.
• Describe creative solutions to problems that impact society by drawing from scientific theories.
• Explain natural principles and phenomena using knowledge from the biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences.
• Recognize the place of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in scientific study.

Upon successful completion of this graduate certificate program, offered over 16 months, graduates will have the knowledge and practical skills to work as Human Resources professionals in a variety of Human Resource settings. This program will also prepare graduates for the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation.* The program has been specifically developed to align with the Human Resources Institute of Alberta accreditation framework. Graduates of an accredited program who achieve a minimum overall average of 70% (2.7 GPA) in the program may apply to the CPHR to waive the National Knowledge Exam (NKE) requirements towards the CPHR designation with Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada (CPHR) member associations**. Graduates who do not achieve a minimum overall average of 70% in the program will be better equipped to write the National Knowledge Exam in preparation to obtain the CPHR designation. The entrance requirement of an undergraduate degree in any field ensures that students in the program will receive instruction commensurate with their background.

Program Outcomes:

• Explain and demonstrate the strategic importance of human resources practices as they relate to the organizational strategy, best practices and trends in human resources.
• Identify key elements of ethical behaviour and professional code of conduct for HR professionals; provide examples to illustrate ability to balance interests, promote organizational values, and manage risk.
• Demonstrate the value of human resources initiatives and their impact on employee engagement and organizational results; explain the importance of involving key stakeholders.
• Identify and explain the components of creating and executing an effective workforce plan and employee value proposition.
• Outline the steps to implement an effective performance management system.
• Identify and explain employment legislation and labour and employee relations strategies used to manage risks and create a respectful, productive and engaging work environment.
• Describe the components of a total rewards structure and outline methods to evaluate a total rewards structure.
• Illustrate the steps involved in job evaluation and market comparison.
• Identify learning priorities and adult learning principles, as well as methods for measuring learning initiatives that support a learning environment, align with business strategy, and provide a return on investment.
• Develop health, wellness and safety policies and procedures in accordance with relevant legislation, regulations and standards; promote a healthy workplace as per organizational policy.
• Use metrics and HR information systems to measure and report on effectiveness of key performance indicators, and to make informed decisions.

Students who complete the Bachelor of Applied Arts in Film, Theatre, and Live Entertainment will be well prepared for entry level work as performers, directors, producers, or technicians in mid to large sized theatres, film sets, and production companies, and they will also possess the skills and attributes to collaborate with others in the creative arts to develop independent projects that serve the film, theatre, and live event needs of local industry.

Built on a foundation of communication, storytelling, and business and entrepreneurial skills, the program offers the choice of three majors:

• Acting
• Film Production
• Live Entertainment Production

Throughout the program, students are given the opportunity to apply their learning through projects, live theatre productions, and short films. Students will also have scheduled time to work collaboratively on projects with other students in the School of Creative Arts, including those studying Visual Art and Animation and Visual Effects.

The 4th year of the program is dedicated to mentored work-related experience where students can work in a relevant industry or on independent projects.

Program Outcomes:-
Acting Major

•  Practice teamwork and professionalism throughout the performance process. 
• Employ creativity and problem solving skills in the process of performance. 
• Communicate effectively in a verbal, written and physical manner within accepted acting industry based parameters. 
• Evaluate script information and performance requirements. 
• Employ acting industry safety procedures.
• Employ acting industry standard language and terminology.
• Practice stage and set standard ethics and workplace etiquette. 
• Practice career, entrepreneurial and life management skills with growing confidence (networking, creative vision, marketing). 
• Analyze own and others’ work in order to provide and appropriately respond to feedback. 
• Recognize and discuss work of cultural and gender diversity (aboriginal/global/gender perspectives/awareness). 
• Demonstrate depth and breadth of technical skills and techniques in theatre and film. 
• Practice performance skills within existing and emerging technologies. 

Film Production Major:-

• Practice teamwork and professionalism throughout the film pre-production, production, and post-production process. 
• Employ creativity and problem solving skills in the process of filmmaking. 
• Communicate clearly in verbal, written and visual forms within accepted film industry based parameters addressing diverse audiences.  
• Evaluate film production information and requirements. 
• Employ film production industry safety procedures.
• Employ film production industry standard language and terminology. 
• Practice film production industry standard ethics and set etiquette. 
• Practice career, entrepreneurial and life management skills with growing confidence (networking, creative vision, marketing). 
• Analyze own and others’ work in order to provide and appropriately respond to feedback. 
• Recognize and discuss work of cultural and gender diversity (aboriginal/global/gender perspectives/awareness). 
• Demonstrate depth and breadth of skills in film (pre-production, production, post-production). 

Live Entertainment Production Major:-

• Practice teamwork and professionalism throughout the development and production process. 
• Employ creativity and problem solving skills throughout the process of producing a live event. 
• Communicate effectively in a verbal, written and visual manner within accepted live entertainment industry based parameters. 
• Evaluate production information and requirements for live entertainment. 
• Employ standard production safety procedures in producing live events. 
• Employ standard production language and terminology in producing live events. 
• Practice live entertainment industry etiquette standards in various workplace environments. 
• Use best practices for environmental sustainability. 
• Practice ethical behavior throughout the live production process. 
• Practice career, entrepreneurial and life management skills with growing confidence (networking, creative vision, marketing). 
• Examine your work and the work of others to disseminate and discuss process and workflow. 
• Recognize and discuss work of cultural and gender diversity (aboriginal/global/gender perspectives/awareness). 
• Demonstrate depth and breadth of technical skills for live entertainment production.

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 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

Sociology is the study of the organization of society and how individuals make sense of their lives and experiences. As an academic discipline, Sociology provides powerful insights into why and how people organize themselves and behave as they do, at work and at play, in families, groups, communities, organizations, and societies. Special interests at RDC include demography, health and wellness, aging, mass media, and popular culture, gender, families, crime and justice, social stratification, poverty, and inequality.

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.

Graduates of the four-year Bachelor of Education program (University of Alberta) and the five-year combined degree program (University of Alberta and The University of Lethbridge) are eligible to apply for Teacher Certification in the Province of Alberta and all other provinces. RDC offers up to two years (60 credits) of transferable coursework in these programs.

Your educational experience is further enhanced through active participation in the Education Undergraduate Society (EUS). Membership in this society entitles you to attend conferences, conventions and other activities of the Alberta Teachers' Association.

Communications Studies provides an awareness of the impact of media, understanding of research and practice involving media, and research and practice in discourse.

University Transfer Program
RDC offers the first two years of the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Communications Studies. For the most current university program and transfer information, see the Planning Guides.

This two-year Career Development Diploma prepares internationally educated nurses to integrate their prior education into the Canadian health care environment and take on management or leadership roles. Explore foundational business and management concepts and learn how to apply them to challenges faced by both public and private health care organizations.

Graduates of the program will be perfectly positioned to lead their organization in achieving business and strategic goals. The importance of critical thinking and significance of cultural diversity are both emphasized in this immersive and dynamic program. Graduates will also gain valuable strategies for completing the regulatory examination process for professional certification in Canada.

This two-year program prepares students to work within the legal profession as a highly skilled administrative professional providing support to lawyers within law firms, legal departments of corporations and government agencies. Students will develop knowledge and skills in legal terminology and procedures, technology, and communication through the following learning outcomes:

• complete processes and documents related to default judgments and contested actions, collections and chambers applications
• complete processes, searches, documents, and letters related to a variety of real estate purchases and sales
• create wills and enduring power of attorney, personal directives and applications for trusteeship and guardianship
• complete applications for probate and administration
• complete processes and documents for application for divorce, custody, access, support and matrimonial property pursuant to the various family law statutes
• register a variety of types of businesses, and prepare and maintain a corporate minute book
• demonstrate a basic understanding of the Canadian legal system
• demonstrate a basic understanding of criminal law
• identify components of contracts and assemble selected contracts
• create messages, letters and documents with appropriate style and format, using correct grammar and spelling. Proofread and edit own work and the work of others
• complete math calculations common to a law office
• demonstrate technical competence related to information technology commonly used in legal environments
• use interpersonal communication skills to promote positive client relations, resolve conflict and promote a positive team working environment
• demonstrate initiative, attitude and positive presentation of self, appropriate to the legal environments
• behave in an ethical manner based on the Code of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Alberta
• demonstrate job search skills
• locate, evaluate, select, organize and summarize information using appropriate resources
• identify common problems encountered in the role of legal assistant and demonstrate problem solving strategies
• demonstrate time management and organizational skills.