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Red Deer Polytechnic Open House this Saturday!

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Red Deer Polytechnic welcomes prospective students and community to visit campus during Open House

Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) will showcase its range of programs, student services and facilities at the post-secondary institution’s Open House:

Saturday, October 28 | 9 am – 1 pm
Red Deer Polytechnic Main Campus

Attendees are encouraged to register to attend (drop-ins are also welcome)

“We look forward to welcoming prospective students and their supporters, who are looking to explore a variety of careers, to attend RDP’s Open House,” says Lindsay Engel, Vice President, Academic and Student Experience. “At Red Deer Polytechnic, we are proud to offer more than 80 programs across a range of credentials that prepare students for rewarding careers and that contribute to Alberta’s diverse workforce.”

Through collaboration with industry, RDP students receive enhanced work-integrated learning and applied research opportunities while making connections in their field. The Polytechnic also offers diverse cultural, social and health and well-being opportunities for students.

“Through Residence life, student groups, intramurals and much more, Red Deer Polytechnic has many opportunities for students to have a robust post-secondary experience and meet new people in fun and supportive environments,” says Ms. Engel. “Alumni often share their fond memories of attending RDP, making life-long friends and achieving their personal and professional goals.”

During Open House, RDP is pleased to offer no charge for credit program applications submitted by domestic prospective students for future admission to a program, meet faculty and staff at program exhibits and to take in-person and self guided campus tours. Attendees will also have the chance to win prizes.

More information about Red Deer Polytechnic’s Open House is available at: rdpolytech.ca/openhouse.

RDP is currently accepting applications for students wishing to attend Winter Term (starting in January 2024), Spring Term (starting in May 2024) and Fall Term (starting in September 2024).

Visit Us

Open House

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28 | 9 AM – 1 PM | MAIN CAMPUS

If you’re graduating high school or looking at different career options, you won’t want to miss this event!

Red Deer Polytechnic has more than 80 programs that will challenge you, inspire you and prepare you for your future. Join us on October 28 to learn more about our programs and discover the wide array of student services that are available. This is your opportunity to learn all about what student life is like at Red Deer Polytechnic.

There will be free applications for credit programs during the event, program exhibits, campus tours and a chance to win prizes.

PLAN YOUR DAY!
  • Free parking for all attendees
  • Visit our main entrance to find assistance with wayfinding and answer any questions you may have
  • Speak to the experts – Come equipped with questions to interact with faculty representing all programs offered at RDP (located in the Kevin Siros Gymnasium and Main Gymnasium)
  • Attend a demonstration – Check out booths, classrooms and labs offering demonstrations of what you can learn and do to make the most of your talents at RDP
  • Take a tour – Campus tours will start at the Student Connect Centre (room 1102) and will be offered from 9:15 AM – 12:15 PM
  • Apply to attend – Visit the Library Computer Lab to receive assistance completing your application for admission to RDP through ApplyAlberta at no charge (some restrictions apply)
  • Learn about services – Interact with staff to learn more about the services RDP offers to students including, health and wellness, food services, bookstore, funding, awards and even employment opportunities with RDP (located across campus and in the Forum)
  • Enjoy lunch on us – Dig into a free bowl of soup at the FarSide Bar and Grill operated by the Students’ Association of RDP (while supplies last)

We look forward to welcoming you to campus and thank you for your interest attending RDP.

Register today!


Book an In-Person Tour

In the heart of central Alberta, Red Deer Polytechnic is the best place to start your future!

Select from our tour options below, or you may use our Welcome to Red Deer Polytechnic Campus Maps brochure to tour the institution yourself.

  • Main Campus: Interested in a tour of Red Deer Polytechnic’s Main Campus building and facilities? Check out our calendar to view available tour dates and timesBook your personalized tour now!
  • Residence: Email [email protected].

Visit Us Virtually

From near or far, we invite you to get to know Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP)!

Red Deer Polytechnic’s new Virtual Tour is a great way to see all that our beautiful campuses have to offer. Featuring 100 different areas and 360-degree views, you will be able to imagine yourself learning and living here.  You can also visit Red Deer Polytechnic’s YouTube channel to be introduced to our campus, facilities, programs, students and much more.

Want to stay social? You can also say hi and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.


Red Hot Science Workshops

Red Hot Science workshops at Red Deer Polytechnic provide a variety of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experiences for youth groups and school groups in central Alberta.

Red Deer Polytechnic students can volunteer to help lead Red Hot Science activities, too.

 

DEI

TMU Medical School Sacrifices Academic Merit to Pursue Intolerance

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From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Susan Martinuk

Race- (and other-) based admissions will inevitably pave the way to race- (and other-) based medical practices, which will only further the divisions that exist in society. You can’t fight discrimination with more discrimination.

Perhaps it should be expected that a so-obviously ‘woke’ institution as the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) would toss aside such antiquated concepts as academic merit as it prepares to open its new medical school in the fall of 2025.

After all, until recently, TMU was more widely known as Ryerson University. But it underwent a rapid period of self-flagellation, statue-tipping and, ultimately, a name change when its namesake, Edgerton Ryerson, was linked (however indirectly) to Canada’s residential school system.

Now that it has sufficiently cleansed itself of any association with past intolerance, it is going forward with a more modern form of intolerance and institutional bias by mandating a huge 80% diversity quota for its inaugural cohort of medical students.

TMU plans to fill 75 of its 94 available seats via three pathways for “equity-deserving groups” in an effort to counter systemic bias and eliminate barriers to success for certain groups. Consequently, there are distinct admission pathways for “Indigenous, Black and Equity-Deserving” groups.

What exactly is an equity-deserving group? It’s almost any identity group you can imagine – that is, except those who identify as white, straight, cisgender, straight-A, middle- and/or upper-class males.

To further facilitate this grand plan, TMU has eliminated the need to write the traditional MCAT exam (often used to assess aptitude, but apparently TMU views it as a barrier to accessing medical education). Further, it has set the minimum grade point average at a rather average 3.3 and, “in order to attract a diverse range of applicants,” it is accepting students with a four-year undergrad degree from any field.

It’s difficult to imagine how such a heterogenous group can begin learning medicine at the same level. Someone with an advanced degree in physiology or anatomy will be light years ahead of a classmate who gained a degree by dissecting Dostoyevsky.

Finally, it should be noted that in “exceptional circumstances” any of these requirements can be reconsidered for, you guessed it, black, indigenous or other equity-deserving groups.

As for the curriculum itself, it promises to be “rooted in community-driven care and cultural respect and safety, with ECA, decolonization and reconciliation woven throughout” which will “help students become a new kind of physician.”

Whether or not this “new kind of physician” will be perceived as fully credible, however, is yet to be seen. Because of its ‘woke’ application process, all TMU medical graduates will be judged differently no matter how skilled they may be and even when physicians are in short supply. Life and death decisions are literally in their hands, and in such cases, one would think that medical expertise is far more important than sharing the same pronouns.

Frankly, if students need a falsely inclusive environment where all minds think alike to feel safe and a part of society, then maybe they aren’t cut out to become doctors who will treat all people equally. After all, race- (and other-) based admissions will inevitably pave the way to race- (and other-) based medical practices, which will only further the divisions that exist in society. You can’t fight discrimination with more discrimination.

It’s ridiculous to use medical school enrollments as a means of resolving issues of social injustice. However, from a broader perspective, this social experiment echoes what is already happening in universities across Canada. The academic merit of individuals is increasingly being pushed aside to fulfill quotas based on gender or even race.

One year ago, the University of Victoria made headlines when it posted a position for an assistant professor in the music department. The catch is that the selection process was limited to black people. Education professor Dr. Patrick Keeney points out that diversity, equity and inclusion policies are reshaping core operations at universities. Grants and prestigious research chair positions are increasingly available only to visible minorities or other identity groups.

Non-academic considerations are given priority, and funding is contingent on meeting minority quotas.

Consequently, Keeney states that the quality of education is falling and universities that were once committed to academic excellence are now perceived as institutions to pursue social justice.

Diversity is a legitimate goal, but it cannot – and should not — be achieved by subjugating academic merit to social experimentation.

Susan Martinuk is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health-care Crisis.

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Education

Too many bad ideas imposed on classroom teachers

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From the Fraser Institute

By Michael Zwaagstra

The Waterloo Region District School Board recently announced it would remove garbage bins from classrooms, before suddenly reversing itself.

Strange as it sounds, the school board planned to replace classroom waste bins with larger bins in common areas outside of classrooms, ostensibly to reduce the amount of waste produced by schools. Apparently, the facilities superintendent and senior facilities manager (the people behind this idea) think garbage magically appears when garbage bins are in classrooms and disappears once you get rid of these bins.

Of course, reality is quite different. Students still must dispose of dirty Kleenex tissues, empty pens and used candy wrappers. The aborted plan gave students a ready-made excuse for extra hallway trips. To prevent this from happening, teachers would have to provide makeshift garbage bins of their own.

This is a prime example of administrators trying to impose impractical directives on teachers for the sake of virtue signalling. No doubt Waterloo school board officials wanted to be recognized as environmental leaders. Getting rid of garbage bins in classrooms is an easy and effortless way to look like you’re doing something good for the environment.

Indeed, teachers typically bear the brunt of bad ideas imposed on them from above. As another example, British Columbia K-9 teachers must now issue report cards with confusing descriptors such as “emerging” and “extending” rather than more easily understood letter grades such as A, B and C. A recent survey revealed that most parents find the new B.C. report cards hard to understand. While most had no trouble interpreting letter grades such as A, less than one-third could correctly identify what “emerging” and “extending” mean about a student’s progress.

While the B.C. Ministry of Education claims these new report cards are built on the expertise of classroom teachers, its own surveys found that 77 per cent of teachers were unhappy with the grading overhaul. Of course, their feedback was ignored by education bureaucrats, which means teachers must implement something most disagree with, and then bear the brunt of parental frustration.

And one can never forget the nonsensical “no-zero” policies imposed on teachers in every province, which prohibit teachers from giving a mark of zero when students fail to hand in assignments or docking marks for late assignments. The reasoning behind no-zero policies is that zeroes have too negative an impact on student grades.

Fortunately, no-zero policies have become less popular in Canadian schools, particularly after Edmonton physics teacher Lynden Dorval was fired for refusing to comply with his principal’s no-zeroes edict. Not only did the public overwhelmingly support Dorval at the time, but the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld an arbitrator’s ruling that Dorval’s firing was unjust. In the end, taxpayers were on the hook for paying Dorval two years of salary, along with topping up his pension. But this doesn’t mean no-zero policies have disappeared entirely. Plenty of assessment gurus hired by school boards still push them on gullible administrators and unsuspecting teachers.

Finally, there are the never-ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training sessions—possibly the worst fads ever imposed on Canadian teachers. In an obvious desire to justify their jobs, DEI consultants provide many hours of professional development to hapless teachers who have no choice but to attend.

When teachers push back, as Toronto principal Richard Bilkszto did during a DEI session a couple years ago, they’re subjected to harassment and derision. In this case, the social impact on Bilkszto was so negative he eventually and tragically took his own life.

The Bilkszto case had a chilling effect—teachers should go along with whatever they’re told to do by their employer, even when a directive doesn’t make sense. This is not healthy for any profession, and it certainly doesn’t benefit students.

Classroom teachers have far too many bad ideas imposed on them. Instead of making teachers implement useless fads, we should just let them teach. That is, after all, why they became teachers in the first place.

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