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Education Requirements for Early Educators

The provision of early care and education and school age services are provided in a variety of settings in North Carolina for both typically and atypically developing children ages birth to twelve. Professional development requirements for staff vary based on where you work and the funding stream that supports your position.

Suppliers of Education for Early Educators

In North Carolina, 58 community colleges and over 20 universities provide college credits and degree programs in early childhood education, school age and other related fields. 


Availability of College Courses

Both two- and four-year early childhood degrees are available in North Carolina. Two-year early childhood degree programs are offered by all 58 community colleges. The network of community colleges has been designed in a manner that requires a student to drive no more than 1 hour to reach a campus. Community colleges have geographic service delivery areas, which means they are assigned to specific geographic areas and may have authority and responsibility for providing courses in a county other than the one in which the college is located. The number and type of credit-bearing professional development opportunities for Early Educators working with school age children is increasing in North Carolina. A total of 21 community college early childhood programs have filed a School Age Degree course of study with the NC Community College System Office, as of Fall 2009. A total of 22 colleges offer a school age certificate and the
school-age credential (5 semester credit hours), is required by the NC Division of Child Development for
school age group leaders working in regulated child care facilities. Very few degrees beyond the AAS level are available in North Carolina, as of December 2009.

Consumer Beware – Regional Accreditation of Degree Programs

All NC early childhood systems require coursework be taken at a regionally accredited institution of higher education (college or university). All public community colleges and universities in North Carolina are regionally accredited. Degree program accreditation systems in other states, offered online or in other countries may not be regionally accredited. This means you may not be allowed to transfer college credits you paid for from one college to another to complete a degree or use toward another degree or an advanced degree. Read the fine print carefully and review the list of regionally accredited postsecondary institutions and programs before enrolling.

Tip Sheet on Selecting Schools of Education

Cost of College Education in NC

Community College Rates
The per semester credit hour tuition for all degree programs offered in NC Community Colleges, as of fall 2009, was $50/credit

Undergraduate Tuition Rates

Resources

College Course Pre-requisites & Co-requisites

Most students who enroll or want to enroll in a NC community colleges must take a college placement test. Some colleges require placement testing at different stages of entrance. There are typically two scenarios for the need for placement testing requirements: college admission/program admission requirements or course admission requirements (prerequisites). At whatever point a student is required to take the placement tests, the test scores will determine if the student is performing at a level to enter into college level courses or if the student needs developmental studies courses prior to entering college level courses. In addition, the student’s score on the test will determine which type of developmental courses are needed (English, Reading or Math), how many developmental courses are needed and what levels of developmental courses are needed. Nearly all Early Childhood Education courses in the community college system will soon have (as of Fall 2010) pre-requisite requirements to ensure students have the literacy skills to be successful in the coursework and in the field of Early Care and Education.

Professional development providers and potential college students are strongly encouraged to meet with a community college or university early childhood faculty member and/or an advisor prior to referring to or enrolling in courses to determine learning needs, expenses and pre-requisites or co-requisites for the courses or degree sought. Many community college early childhood degree programs require certain competencies and/or coursework to be completed prior to enrollment in curriculum credit courses or programs.

College Preparation & Workforce Literacy

Preliminary results from a recent survey by the Institute and the NC Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Council of CCR&R trainers about their qualifications and services they provide reveals that multiple strategies are being provided to support access to college courses – from textbook lending libraries to workforce literacy supports to loaner computers and translators for second language learners.

Resources

Finding Courses

College course credits may be earned while in high school as well as from an accredited institution of higher education. The NC Community College System. The NC Community College System provides an online listing of distance learning courses that are voluntary posted by the distance learning departments at each college. This list can be found at http://vlc.nccommunitycolleges.edu/students/. A searchable listing of NC community college degree programs, with contact information, education options, prerequisites, and more is also available on the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® website: http://www.childcareservices.org/schools/index.php.

The University of North Carolina (UNC) system offers UNCOnline which provides access to course listings on its 16 campuses. The listing currently provides an online listing for programs which are designed for individuals interested in becoming K-12 teachers, administrators, counselors, and specialists in areas such as special education, reading, and academically gifted instruction; active teachers who seek add-on licensure; and college graduates who seek to enter the teaching profession via lateral entry. To view a listing of options visit http://online.northcarolina.edu/detailedsearch.php?pTerm=Early+Childhood&pscope=full&programlevel=&subject=&institution=&area=programs.

Transferring College Course Credit (Articulation)

An articulation agreement is an officially approved agreement that matches coursework between schools. These are designed to help students make a smooth transition when transferring from one institution of education to another. For the past several years, North Carolina early childhood partners have studied and sought a statewide articulation agreement between varying levels of education: between high school and credential granting entities, between two- and four-year early childhood degree granting programs, and between national and state providers of Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate.