Green courses growing at Mount Royal

Mount Royal University Faculty of Continuing Education and Extension is pleased to offer a growing list of "green" or environmentally-based courses and programs for businesses and individuals.

Program Coordinator, Arts Science & Technology, Kristin Dyer, says that Continuing Education has been “looking to expand its environmentally conscious programming.

As the new academic term approaches, eager minds ready themselves for new challenges or to continue to build on the success of previous efforts. Mount Royal University continues to supplement its curriculum to provide instruction in industry sectors that are experiencing tremendous growth and popularity.

The newest course to be added to the list, Building Green with LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), demonstrates Continuing Education’s commitment to blazing trails for others to follow.

The LEED® Green Associate course is for individuals wishing to distinguish themselves by demonstrating a sound understanding of green design, construction and operations.

It is the only post-secondary course in Canada recognized by the Canada Green Building Council.

Program Coordinator, Arts Science & Technology, Kristin Dyer, says that Continuing Education has been “looking to expand its current offerings and to include more environmental topics and this is one presented a great opportunity.”

Building Green with LEED® is a good fit for Continuing Education, “because the curriculum is already made and it is already industry recognized,” says Dyers.

LEED® certified buildings on campus:

Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning is designed to meet the Canadian Green Building Council’s LEED® Gold Standard.

Expansion to the Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning is applying for LEED® Gold Standard.

Expansion to the Science and Technology Wing is applying for LEED® Silver Standard.

“That reduces the amount of lead time to get going and that also reduces the time it takes for the industry to pick it up and realize that it’s a good thing. They’re already looking for it,” adds Dyer.

She says that Continuing Education strives to offer courses that people are looking for or are going to be looking for soon.

“We will continue to look for trends in environmental education in an effort to meet industry demands,” says Dyer.

And the industry demand for more green courses is high.

“Once word got out that we were offering this course, we started getting phone calls before we made it official,” Dyer says.

Dyer says that Continuing Education is thinking of adding a second more technical course and there has already been demand for it despite the fact that the application process for the course hasn’t even begun.

One of the reasons for the high demand is, Canada Green Building Council limits the number of schools that can offer LEED® courses in one particular region.

Mount Royal is one of only three schools that offer such courses in Alberta, and one of those programs is offered exclusively as an online program.

Mount Royal is proud to be one of two institutions in Alberta that can offer the face to face training in environmental design, even though it is somewhat unknown territory.

“It’s a little risky getting involved with something new and something that’s evolving every day, but it’s also nice to be at the forefront of big change,” Dyer says.

With the possibility of adding new LEED® courses in the near future, Continuing Education is poised to remain one step ahead of trends in environmental design.

— Fred Cheney, Sept. 2, 2010