| 1. What are the various program options in Early Childhood at the Wilmington Campus? |
| In the Early Childhood Department we have an educational career ladder that is designed to provide students with courses that build on each other to move you toward an associate’s degree. We have a CDA certificate, Director's Certificate, Early Childhood Studies diploma, and two associate’s degrees. (See Programs) |
| 2. What is the difference between the Childhood Development Associate (CDA) Certificate, Diploma, and an Associate Degree? |
| The CDA certificate contains 18 credits and if you go to school full time it should take you one semester to complete the coursework. The Director's Certificate contains 12 credits and is geared for those interested in administration of ECE programs. The diploma contains all the courses in the CDA certificate and contains a total of 36 credits. If you go to school full time, it should take two semesters. The associate degree contains all the courses found in the diploma. It should take you two years going to school full-time to complete the degree. We have two Early Childhood associate degrees: the Early Childhood Education/Early Childhood Development (ECE/ECD) and the Early Childhood Education/0-K. The 0-K degree is designed for students who plan to complete two years at Delaware Tech and then transfer to the University of Delaware, Wilmington College, or Delaware State University. The ECE/ECD degree is designed for students who desire only an associate degree. |
| 3. Can I take only one class per semester? |
Yes. The majority of our ECE students are working in child care settings during the day and take one class in the evening. Some students take several years to complete the CDA certificate.
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| 4. Will the courses count toward my child care licensing requirement for annual training? |
Yes. The Office of Child Care Licensing requires 15 hours of training in Early Childhood per year. In a college early childhood class you will acquire 48 hours of class time, therefore, you will have well above the required minimum training hours required by Child Care licensing.
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| 5. How much does it cost to attend a class? |
| Click here to see the most current tuition rates and fees.
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| 6. What benefits will a college education offer me? |
Taking care of children is a very demanding profession. Meeting the needs of the individual child, communicating with parents, managing the finances of the program, managing groups of children, and having a working knowledge of what children should be taught are just a few of the situations that make teaching a demanding profession. The classes are designed to give you practical, hands-on knowledge to enable you to better manage groups of children. Our society needs well-trained teachers for our preschool classrooms and the Early Childhood Department at the Wilmington campus will give you the tools to teacher success.
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