Education
Questions people ask about RDC
by Joel Ward, President, RDC
In my role at Red Deer College, I have the opportunity to connect with people from across central Alberta. Whether this is at events hosted by RDC or at other activities in the community, I always enjoy speaking with students, alumni, parents, partners and interested citizens. A great many people are connected with RDC, and what I’ve found through my conversations is that they truly care about what’s happening here.
Over the years, people have asked me a variety of questions about our College, and today I’m happy to provide you with a sample of the commonly asked questions and my thoughts on each.
How many students attend RDC, and where are they from?
On any given day, we have about 7,500 students on our campuses. When I look back at our information from 2016-17, I see that 65% of our students came from central Alberta, with 15% from northern Alberta, 13% from the southern part and 7% coming from outside of our province. These students come from across Canada and from 16 countries around the world.
What is all the construction about?
We are fortunate to be in a time of growth and development at Red Deer College, and each new facility taking shape across main campus is the result of many years of careful and strategic planning. It’s hard to believe the preliminary site work for the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre/Centre des Jeux du Canada Gary W. Harris began back in the fall of 2015. Each day, we are moving closer to its completion and, in September 2018, we will welcome our first group of students to this teaching and learning centre. Not long after, the building will be a huge part of the 2019 Canada Winter Games. Our second construction project, the Alternative Energy Lab, demonstrates our commitment to the exploration and demonstration of new environmental technologies. The lab will provide learning and research opportunities for students and businesses to explore alternative energy solutions. Our third project, a new Residence, is under construction and is visible from 32nd Street. This unique facility incorporates solar panels on three sides and includes apartment-style studio suites, access for those with mobility challenges and short-term accommodation for our Apprenticeship students. All three new buildings support RDC’s goal of reducing our carbon footprint through energy efficient technologies.
What can I take at RDC?
We offer more than 100 programs, and these include everything from collaborative degrees, where students can take all of their courses at RDC, to university transfer programs, where they take their first year or two at RDC and complete at another institution. We also offer skilled trades, diplomas and certificates. This fall, we launched two new programs – the Human Resources Management Graduate Certificate and the Instrumentation Engineering Technology Diploma.
What new programs are on the horizon?
Looking ahead, our senior administrators and faculty are always looking for ways to develop new programs that will offer students the real-world information they need for today’s jobs. One example of this is happening right now in the School of Creative Arts, with two proposed cutting-edge programs – the Bachelor of Applied Arts in Film, Theatre, and Live Entertainment, and the Bachelor of Applied Arts in Animation and Visual Effects. Once we have approval from the government, we intend to launch these programs in the fall of 2018, offering students one-of-a-kind opportunities in the ever-growing film and special effects industries.
When will we be able to complete our degrees at RDC?
We continue to work with our government partners to achieve our goal of RDC becoming a degree- granting institution. If people didn’t have to leave to complete their degrees, as I described above,
Red Deer College | 100 College Boulevard | Box 5005 | Red Deer | AB | Canada | T4N 5H5 | www.rdc.ab.ca
then it would have a huge, positive impact on students, families and even the economy of central Alberta. We will continue to strive to make this goal a reality for our future students.
These questions provide a snapshot of what’s happening here at RDC, and they show how we are always growing and evolving to better serve you, our students and partners and communities. As we continue to grow, I look forward to sharing this information with you – in this column and when we meet in the community.
Joel Ward is President & CEO of Red Deer College
Read more from Todayville.
From the Fraser Institute
Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents.
This week, the Smith government in Alberta will likely pass Bill 27, which requires schools to get signed permission from parents or guardians prior to any lessons on human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation.
It’s a sensible move. The government is proactively ensuring that students are in these classes because their parents want them there. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, for everyone’s sake it makes sense to ensure parental buy-in at the outset.
Unfortunately, many school trustees don’t agree. A recent resolution passed by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) calls on the Smith government to maintain the status quo where parents are assumed to have opted in to these lessons unless they contact the school and opt their children out. Apparently, the ASBA thinks parents can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for their children on this issue.
This ASBA resolution is, in fact, a good example of the reflexive opposition by government school trustees to parental rights. They don’t want parents to take control of their children’s education, especially in sensitive areas. Fortunately, the Alberta government rebuffed ASBA’s demands and this attempt to abolish Bill 27 will likely fall on deaf ears.
However, there’s an even better safeguard available to Alberta parents—school choice. Out of all Canadian provinces, Alberta offers the most school choice. Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents. Simply put, parents who are dissatisfied with the government school system have plenty of options—more than parents in any other province. This means Alberta parents can vote with their feet.
Things are quite different in other parts of the country. For example, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces do not allow any provincial funding to follow students to independent schools. In other words, parents in these provinces who choose an independent school must pay the full cost themselves—while still paying taxes that fund government schools. And no province other than Alberta allows charter schools.
This is why it’s important to give parents as much school choice as possible. Given the tendency of government school boards to remove choices from parents, it’s important that all parents, including those with limited means, have other options available for their children.
Imagine if the owners of a large grocery store tried to impose their dietary preferences by removing all meat products and telling customers that the only way they could purchase meat is to make a special order. What would happen in that scenario? It depends on what other options are available. If this was the only grocery store in the community, customers would have no choice but to comply. However, if there were other stores, customers could simply shop elsewhere. Choice empowers people and limits the ability of one company to limit the choices of people who live in the community.
Think of government school boards as a monopolistic service provider like a grocery store. They often do everything possible to prevent parents from going anywhere else for their children’s education. Trusting them to do what’s best for parents and children is like assuming that the owners of a grocery store would always put the interests of their customers first and not their own self-interest. Monopolies are bad in the private sector and they’re bad in the education sector, too.
Clearly, it makes sense to require schools to get proactive consent from parents. This ensures maximum buy-in from parents for whatever courses their children take. It’s also important that Alberta remains a bastion of school choice. By making it easier for parents to choose from a variety of education options, Alberta puts power in the hands of parents, exactly where it belongs. Parents in other provinces should want that same power, too.
Financial literacy prepares students for their futures
Students across Alberta will build the fundamental life skills they need to grow into adulthood through support for financial literacy programming.
Saving, budgeting, investing and the ability to make wise financial decisions are fundamental life skills Alberta’s youth need to develop as they grow into adulthood. Alberta’s government is ensuring that students have every opportunity to develop these fundamental life skills by integrating financial literacy into the K-12 curriculum and providing grant funding to three Canadian organizations to offer dedicated financial learning resources for students and teachers.
“We are proud to support financial literacy programming for students. Our on-going support for financial literacy education will help young Albertans navigate their futures with confidence by helping them build the fundamental life skills they need to prosper and secure their futures in today’s fast-moving world.”
In May 2022, Alberta’s government invested $5 million over three years into financial literacy programming to ensure students have the financial knowledge they need to thrive in life. Enriched Academy receives $900,000 per year and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education receives $500,000 per year to provide students in grades 5 to 12 with financial literacy programming, aligned with the curriculum, to improve their financial knowledge. In addition, Junior Achievement receives $250,000 per year to provide hands-on, experiential financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship education to students in kindergarten to Grade 6.
“Our support for financial literacy programming will set Alberta’s youth up for success. This programming will ensure that Alberta’s youth develop the fundamental life skills they need to manage their personal finances, make sound financial decisions, and grow into adulthood with confidence.”
Free financial literacy webinar
Some of the funding provided will support Enriched Academy hosting a free live webinar for grades 4 to 12 students and teachers on Tuesday, November 26, as part of their financial literacy programming. The webinar will teach students how to build their credit with confidence and will feature an interactive gameshow format to engage and motivate students to learn how credit works and how to manage credit and their personal finances with confidence. Students and teachers who are interested in participating can register for the webinar online.
“Our partnership with the Government of Alberta has enabled us to deliver transformational financial literacy education to nearly six hundred thousand students across the province. As a high school teacher, I’ve witnessed firsthand how financial literacy education empowers students, increasing their confidence in money management and preparing them to be financially responsible. Investments in financial literacy are investments in our students’ futures, and I’m already seeing it pay dividends for Alberta students.”
Teachers can also access lesson plans, activities, and interactive tools from all three organizations’ websites to support financial literacy learning outcomes in Alberta’s curriculum.
Quick facts
- Financial literacy programming offered by the three organizations reaches more than 350,000 students annually.
- Alberta’s renewed K-6 curriculum includes an increased emphasis on financial literacy skills, as well as a stronger foundation in financial literacy in all grades.
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