143 Atkinson Building; Telephone: 416-736-5616; Fax: 416-650-8042

Non-Credit, Non-Degree Programs

The Division of Continuing Education continually introduces new courses and certificates. To receive further information on new offerings and continuing programs please contact our office (143 Atkinson Building), e-mail: DCE@yorku.ca or visit http://www.yorku.ca/laps/coned.

Certificate Programs (Non-Degree Credit)

Certificate in Dispute Resolution

Co-sponsored with the School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies and La Marsh Research Centre on Violence and Conflict Resolution, York University.

This 132-hour certificate program is designed to provide educational and practical skills training to those interested in acquiring knowledge in the growing field of dispute resolution. The program provides core competencies in dispute resolution for those wishing to bring new skills to their existing jobs and is the first step leading to professional accreditation as a mediator. The program integrates dispute resolution theory and practical skill development opportunities. Successful completion of the certificate program will satisfy the education component of the membership requirements of the ADR Institute of Ontario and the ADR Institute of Canada.

Advanced Certificate in Dispute Resolution

Co-sponsored with the School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies and La Marsh Research Centre on Violence and Conflict Resolution, York University.

The non-degree credit Advanced Certificate in Dispute Resolution consists of 85 hours of classroom instruction, dispute resolution observation and supervised mediation practice. The program will present participants with a structured and supervised opportunity to apply the theories of dispute resolution “in-the-field”. The program explores theoretical constructs of conflict, conflict escalation and modes of dispute resolution; exposure to and critical analysis of best practices in dispute resolution; skill development opportunities; and development of a model for continued self-education in professional practice in dispute resolution. The program is designed for graduates of the division’s Certificate in Dispute Resolution Program and other eligible practitioners who are interested in pursuing advanced-level education and training in the field of dispute resolution practice, so that they can confidently and skillfully offer mediation services to the public, in a variety of settings. The program provides students with a direct link to accreditation and the acquisition of professional designation and membership in dispute resolution associations. Successful completion of the Advanced Certificate in Dispute Resolution will give graduates the educational component needed to apply for the Chartered Mediator (C.Med) designation granted by the ADR Institute of Canada. For more information please check the ADR Institute of Ontario Web site at http://www.adrontario.ca.

Certificate in Dispute Resolution Internship

These optional, 100-hour internships are available to graduates of the Certificate in Dispute Resolution Program or those that have completed at least 132 hours of dispute resolution training at another institution who are interested in practicing their newly-acquired skills under the supervision of experienced dispute resolution professionals. Internships are available in four areas of dispute resolution practice: community mediation, family mediation, organizational dispute resolution and bilingual mediation. Interns develop individualized learning plans, in collaboration with the internship provider, which determine the range of activities and specific outcomes for their internship.

Certificate in Infant Mental Health

Co-sponsored with the Infant Mental Health Promotion

This 120-hour non-credit certificate program is designed to provide front-line service providers with essential knowledge and practical skills to encourage positive parent-infant interactions and promote optimal developmental progress in infants. The program is directed to those interested in working effectively in the field of infant development, prevention and/or early intervention including work with infants with special needs, and infants living in high-risk environments.

Advanced Certificate in Infant Mental Health

Co-sponsored with the Infant Mental Health Promotion

This 98-hour non-credit skills-based program will provide participants with a structured and supervised opportunity to apply theoretical principles in a practical and realistic environment, featuring role-plays, video and written case studies, and peer consultation. Upon completion of the program, participants will have demonstrated their practical understanding of theoretical principles underlying a variety of assessment and intervention strategies, reflected upon the application of a code of ethical conduct to their work with infants, toddlers and their parents, and enhanced their facility in self-care within a difficult area of human service practice.

Certificate in Applied Wealth Management

This 152-hour non-degree certificate program will provide participants with the basic foundational skills necessary to stay current with the evolving realm of front-line financial services. The program develops the skills participants need to deliver basic wealth management services in everyday client situations. It also provides skills that will enable participants to identify more complex wealth management concerns that should be referred to an expert in the field.

Certificate in Marketing for Professionals

This non-degree certificate program will consist of nine 36-hour courses, each including classroom instruction, small group and personal exercises and discussions, over two levels. Course #1, Marketing Essentials, is a prerequisite to all other courses. Other than Marketing 101, the courses may be taken in any order but it is recommended that the student complete the courses in level 1 before taking the courses in level 2. Once the courses in each level are completed the student can apply to receive a certificate indicating successful completion of that level. Upon completion of all the courses in both levels the student can apply to receive a certificate indicating successful completion of the program.

Certificate in Refugee and Forced Migration Issues

This non-degree certificate program will consist of one introductory workshop and three 36-hour course for a total of 114 hours. The pedagogy consists of classroom sessions, small group and personal exercises and discussions. The overall goal of the program is to improve the settlement experiences of refugees by strengthening the programs and services that assist them. Participants will build on their own professional experiences. They will better understand: national and international legal and immigration policies and their rationale, the experiences of refugees from diverse backgrounds, and be able to recognize and address the psychosocial needs of their clients.

Certificate in Harm Reduction

The Certificate in Harm Reduction consists of 117-hours of instruction designed to introduce service providers, administrators and policy makers to the principles, concepts and practices of harm reduction, to provide an opportunity to critically examine examples of harm reduction work and to become familiar with strategies for mobilizing support for and developing harm reduction programs in communities, families and institutions.

Professional Development Courses

Event Planning and Management for Professionals

The Event Planning and Management course is designed to introduce participants to the principles, concepts and practices of event planning and management. Participants will be given an opportunity to examine case studies of successful events and become familiar with the strategies needed to effectively plan, execute and promote their own event.

Disaster and Emergency Management

This course presents the theories, principles and approaches to disaster and emergency management. Organized based on the concept and practice of comprehensive emergency management, it will explain concepts, methods and issues of mitigation, preparedness, response and recover phases of emergency management, as well as hazard, risk and vulnerability analysis. This course is supported by disaster and emergency research and practice using a combination of disaster and emergency related research findings, professional practice and various past disaster and emergency cases selected from Canada and the rest of the world.

Writing Reports that Work (Business Writing Skills)

Why report writing? Most of us have to write reports to communicate information within and outside our organizations and time is always an issue. A badly written report risks remaining unread and its objectives not being reached. Effective report writing is one of the best ways of influencing and persuading the right people and leaves a permanent record of your credibility and thought processes. This is a blended-delivery course, specifically designed to enable you to write easy-to-read, organized documents that will achieve your desired results and create maximum impact on your audience. Upon completion of the three sections of this course you will produce more professional and effective reports.

Family Mediation

In this five-day, 40-hour course, the participants will learn the nature of conflict, the ADR spectrum, interest-based negotiation and the mediation process. They will practice the skills required to inform prospective clients about mediation, to understand the importance of screening for domestic violence and power imbalance, to prepare a Family Mediation Agreement, to open a mediation, to model and apply client-centred communication, to facilitate the sharing of party perspectives, agenda formation, and problem-solving, and to draft a Memorandum of Understanding. The trainer will demonstrate mediator interventions and the participants will apply their learning in role-play simulations. The training manual contains a concise summary of the content of the course with a glossary of terms, a bibliography, precedents for practice, journal articles and codes of ethics. This course is designed to meet the membership criteria of the ADR Institute of Ontario, Family Mediation Canada, and the Ontario Association for Family Mediation and contribute to the training requirements for certification as a family mediator by those organizations.

Family Arbitration

In this five-day, 40-hour course, the participants will learn the nature of conflict, the ADR spectrum and the arbitration process. They will practice the skills required to inform prospective clients about arbitration, to understand the importance of screening for domestic violence and power imbalance, to prepare a Family Arbitration Agreement, to conduct a pre-hearing meeting, to commence and conduct an arbitration hearing and to draft an award. The Arbitration Act and the Family Law Act, as amended by the Family Statute Law Amendment Act, and the Family Arbitration regulations will be reviewed in detail. The trainer will demonstrate arbitrator practices and the participants will apply their learning in role-play simulations. The training manual contains a concise summary of the content of the course with a glossary of terms, a bibliography, precedents for practice, the legislation and regulations, and court decisions. This course is designed to meet for membership criteria of the ADR Institute of Ontario and contribute toward the training requirements for certification as a family arbitrator by that organization.

Screening for Domestic Violence and Power Imbalance

This 21-hour course will be of interest to dispute resolution professionals and other practitioners who work with families. It is fashioned from the standards set by Ontario Association for Family Mediators (OAFM) whose definition addresses psychological, emotional and economic abuse and power imbalance. Also included is the requirement for a safe, voluntary, fair and competent process with the caveat for termination if there is an element of risk. The course fits the criteria set by Family Mediation Canada (FMC) and the ADR Institute of Toronto. Dispute resolution has demonstrated its usefulness in domestic violence cases with separating and divorcing families. The court system is not equipped to adequately deal with these power differentials. Working through the lens of a feminist and intersectional theoretical framework, this course will look at the historical, societal and political perspectives of the issue. It will seek to raise the level of awareness of family professionals in the effective use of critical interventions and effective screening apparatus in cases where there is domestic violence and power imbalance. The application of an analytical approach to determine capacity, readiness and appropriateness will be applied. In viewing the various typologies trainers will use videos, mini lectures and demonstrations to assist participants in the understanding of and to increase the level of sensitivity of the issues. The training manual will include journal articles, a bibliography and other related materials.

Collaborative Practice

In this five-day, 40-hour course, the participants will learn the underlying principles of collaborative practice, including the history, evolution and applications of the process. The course will provide the learner with an understanding of the role of the legal, family and financial professionals and the role of the clients in the process, as well as how to assess clients for enrolment. Participants will become familiar with client coaching and education and the role of interest based negotiations in the collaborative process. The course focuses on approaches to understanding and managing conflict and provides opportunities for demonstrations, role plays and interactive learning of skills and techniques that assist the clients through the process. The trainers will provide both an in-depth guide to all aspects of a collaborative case as well as time for the participants to experience the various approaches from the perspective of all of the professional team members (financial, family and legal). The training faculty will demonstrate how the professionals work together to bring skill and efficiency to the clients’ needs and objectives. Trainers will demonstrate how to model and apply client-centred communication, to facilitate the sharing of party perspectives, agenda formation, and problem-solving, and how to draft a Separation Agreement in a cooperative manner. The training manual contains a concise summary of the content of the course with a glossary of terms, a bibliography, precedents for practice, journal articles, and protocols. This course is designed to meet the membership criteria of Collaborative Practice Toronto, and many other practice groups around the GTA and the province.

Family Law

In this four-day, 30-hour course, the participants will learn the fundamentals of our law-making traditions, the administration of the Ontario family justice system and the principal family law legislation. The participants will acquire an understanding of the family law pertaining to the custody of and access to children, child support, spousal support, the equalization and division of property, and domestic contracts. The Divorce Act, the Children’s Law Reform Act, the Family Law Act and the Succession Law Reform Act will be reviewed in detail. The trainer will demonstrate the application of the DIVORCEmate software to determine child support pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines and spousal support pursuant to the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. The training manual contains a concise summary of the content of the course with excerpts from the legislation and court decisions and a precedent Separation Agreement. This course is designed to meet the criteria of the Attorney General of Ontario for professionals, other than lawyers, who are family arbitrators.

Admission Credential

Pre-University Humanities: Aspects of Canadian Culture

Pre-University Social Science: Canadian Social Issues

These non-credit admission credential courses are offered over 14 evenings and are designed for people who intend to apply as mature students to York University for degree-credit study in the Faculties Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, Glendon or Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. Students who earn a minimum grade of B or better in the pre-University course, will be considered for admission to York University.

To be considered as a mature student, student should be 21 years or older as of the first day of classes of the session for which student has applied; have been out of full-time high-school studies for at least two years (if the student returned to upgrade after a two-year absence, the student is still eligible to apply as a mature student); do not have a recent unfavourable academic record and have demonstrated potential for success through academic, professional or volunteer activities and other accomplishments. For greater detail please refer to the York University Office of Admissions at 416-736-5000.

Academic Preparation

Elementary Mathematics

This non-credit course is offered over 26 evenings and is designed to upgrade students' skills in elementary mathematics. It is useful for students who have been away from mathematics for some time and are in need of a refresher course. Topics to be covered include beginning skills in algebra, analytic geometry, Euclidean geometry and equation solving, as well as an introduction to trigonometry.

Students already admitted to the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies who earn a grade of B or better in this course will gain automatic entrance to MATH 1710 6.00 and will be exempt from taking the preliminary test.

Mathematics for Admissions Waiver

Designed by the School of Administrative Studies with mathematics entrance requirements in mind, this 60-hour non-credit course examines critical mathematical techniques, emphasizes problem solving, and fundamental concepts and how they relate to each other. Topics include numbers and logics, tools for data management, combinations, sequences and series, and functions and linear equations. This course is for students who require the equivalent of 4U (MHF4U Advanced Functions) mathematics for program admission, such as, administrative studies and economics. This course will provide an acceptable alternative to meet the entry requirements of some programs.

Disaster and Emergency Management Prerequisite Course for the Masters Program in Emergency Management

This course presents the theories, principles and approaches to disaster and emergency management. Organized based on the concept and practice of comprehensive emergency management, it will explain concepts, methods and issues of mitigation, preparedness, response and recover phases of emergency management, as well as hazard, risk and vulnerability analysis. This course is supported by disaster and emergency research and practice using a combination of disaster and emergency related research findings, professional practice and various past disaster and emergency cases selected from Canada and the rest of the world. This is a prerequisite course for students interested in enrolling in the masters program in Emergency Management.

Preparatory Programs for Professional Association Examinations

Aviation Program

Flight Dispatcher Program

A flight dispatcher plays a pivotal role in the aviation industry in Canada. As an employee of an airline, the flight dispatcher has overall responsibility for flight planning and air safety. With few and very limited exceptions, aircraft belonging to an airline, carrying passengers and operating from a Canadian airport may not depart without the consent of the flight dispatcher. All flight dispatchers must have passed the generic Transport Canada Flight Dispatcher Examination before being permitted to work in flight dispatch. This intensive, non-degree credit course was designed to assist flight dispatch candidates to prepare for the Transport Canada Certificate Examination.