About the B.S. in Early Child Care
Texas Tech University, in collaboration with six other universities, offers this 100 percent online bachelor’s degree via the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GPIDEA). To be admitted, students must have completed at least 30 credit hours applicable to graduation requirements and have earned at least a 2.5 grade point average in designated prerequisite courses, that must include one course in Lifespan Human Development. Students may be admitted to the program at any one of the participating universities, and the admitting university becomes the student’s “home” (degree-granting) institution. Students will register for all courses at the home institution, although faculty at any of the member institutions may teach offered courses.
The degree consists of 12 core courses and three practica totaling 51 credit hours, and additional hours may be needed in order to meet credit hour and other graduation requirements at the degree-granting university. The Bachelor of Science in Early Child Care at Texas Tech (listed as Early Childhood Education in a Mobile Society on the GPIDEA website) prepares students to work in early childhood settings with young children whose family members are highly mobile. When students complete the program, they will be qualified to work in a variety of programs that offer early care and education for children ages birth to eight and particularly those with highly mobile populations, such as military installations. Students will not receive teacher certification as part of this online bachelor’s degree but can seek post-baccalaureate or alternative certification upon completion. For more information see www.depts.ttu.edu/elearning/bachelors/early-child-care/.
Communication Literacy Requirement. Successfully working with young children and families in a childcare or classroom setting requires many different forms of communication. Students who complete this online degree will have opportunities to foster appropriate adult child relationships as well as support children in their relationships with their peers and maintaining strong communication between the classroom/childcare center and the child’s caregiver. As students complete their course requirements, they will develop skills for and receive feedback on their writing and communication skills for various audiences including administrators, practitioners, caregivers, and children and will complete both informal and formal assessment reports. The Early Child Care Communication Literacy courses are uniquely designed to help prepare graduates to communicate successfully in their professional careers working with children and families in a mobile society. The Communication Literacy courses for the Early Child Care major include HDFS 3310 , HDFS 3312 , and HDFS 3686 .
