Child Development

The Child Development curricula are designed to provide academic background and practical work experience necessary for successful care and guidance of young children. Students completing this program will be qualified to serve as the following: early childhood teachers or assistants, foster parents, paraprofessionals, or, with appropriate work experience, child development center directors. Some courses apply to EC-6 teacher certification. (See General Information, Academic Degrees and Certificates for field of study information.) The AAS degree requires completion of 60 semester hours. All of the courses in the Child Development Administration and Early Childhood Certificate programs may apply to this AAS degree. The Child Development AAS degree is approved for Tech Prep.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: “No person with a conviction or who is under indictment for, or is the subject of an official criminal complaint alleging violation of any of the crimes listed as a felony against the person or a felony violation of the Texas Controlled Substance Act may be present while children are in care,” therefore the Child Development program is not appropriate for anyone who falls into this category.

The associate degree program seeks to sow and cultivate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that highly qualified early education professionals are expected to possess if they are to be more effective in their care-giving and teaching efforts.

In addition, please note that a student may only earn one Occupational Skills Award (OSA) per academic year.

TSI testing required prior to first enrollment for all AAS degrees and Level II certificates.

The Child Development program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Commission on the Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs, 1401 H St. NW Suite 600, Washington DC 20005, from March, 2024 - December, 2026.

Outcome Measure #1: The Number of Program Completers

In the chart below, please indicate the number and percentage of program completers for the three most recent academic years. Note: the percentages across each row must add up to 100%.

*Note: Last year report based FT/PT status on first term status vs at time of completion.

Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate

• What is the published timeframe for full-time candidates to complete the early childhood program(s) included in this Self-Study Report? (Please indicate in terms of the number of academic years; e.g., five semesters would be 2.5 academic years.):

• In the following chart, please indicate the percentage of full-time candidates completing the program within the program's published timeframe.^[1] The program must complete the information for the 150% indicator and choose to report on either the 100%, 200%, or 300% indicator. The academic years selected must fall within eight years of the date this report is submitted. (Copy and paste additional charts for each program if submitting multiple programs).

Example:  A program with a published timeline of two years (four semesters at 15 credits a semester) to complete an A.A.S. in Early Childhood could select a Fall 2016 cohort on which to report. The 150% indicator indicates all members of the Fall 2016 cohort (full-time at the time of enrollment) who completed the program by Spring 2019. The 100% indicator only contains members of the Fall 2016 cohort who completed the program by Spring 2018. The 200% indicator contains all members of the Fall 2016 cohort who completed the program by Spring 2020, including those already counted in the 150% indicator. Lastly, the 300% indicator contains all members of the Fall 2016 cohort who completed the program by Spring 2022, including those already counted in the 150% indicator.

[1] “The Commission defines the published time frame as the number of terms an individual candidate was actually enrolled in the program. The terms do not have to be consecutive, but the total number of terms must meet the program’s expected time frame for completion. University-approved withdrawals (e.g., leaves of absence for reasons of health, maternity/paternity, mission work, military assignment) do not count toward the number of terms a candidate was enrolled in the program. Candidates taking longer due to reasons other than institution-approved withdrawals (e.g., course repeats, remediation plans) cannot be considered as meeting completion expectations.” Language adapted from the Council on Academic Accreditation for Audiology, Speech Language Pathology of the American Speech Language Hearing Association athttp://caa.asha.org/news/calculating-program-completion-rates/.

Program Name: Child Development, AAS Degree

• A program may (but is not required to) insert below a short narrative description (150 words maximum) of the data reflected in Outcome Measure #2 to provide context.

Academic Year 2020 (Fall 2019 Cohort) 200% completion rate is incomplete (Spring 2023 graduates have not been awarded) and only includes Fall 2022 graduates.

Outcome Measure #3: Institutional Selected Data  

All programs are required to select at least one of the following outcome measures on which to report. (Institutions submitting multiple programs in a single Annual Report may select the same or a different measure for each program; a separate chart must be submitted for each program.)

• The fall-to-fall retention rate in the program for each of the three most recently completed academic years
• The number and percentage of program graduates employed in the early childhood profession or pursuing further education in the profession within one year of graduation for each of the three most recent academic years for which information is available.

OR

*The figures in these two columns do not need to add up to 100%

OR

• Institutionally designed measure that speaks to candidate outcomes in the program (list the measure and the data for the measure). The data must be reported for the most recent three academic years. Such measures might include the average GPA of the graduating class, the number of candidates who completed their courses with a “C” or above, the pass rate on national performance assessments such as edTPA, etc.

For the Child Development, AAS degree:

Infant and Toddler Teacher Certificate Level and Early Childhood Certificate Level II, the Gulf Coast Wage and Job Growth Projections are: Annual wage $34,287 with a job growth rate of 24.2% (2012-2022), and 315 annual job openings.

Teacher Assistant / Aide Certificate Level II, the Gulf Coast Wage and Job Growth Projections are: Annual Wage $20,951 with a job growth rate of 26.5%(2012-2022) and 900 annual job openings.

Some online programs may require up to 15% of their curriculum be taken in-person on one of HCC’s campuses.  Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.

Language Option Restrictions

Some online programs require students to participate in foreign language courses as part of the program’s required curriculum. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements and available language options. If you would like to take courses in a language that is not offered online, you would have to do so on campus.

Elective Course Restrictions

Some online programs may have a limited number of elective options available, based on which of the designated electives are currently offered online.  Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.

Required Course Restrictions

Some online programs may require students to participate in one or more campus-based courses as part of a given program’s required curriculum. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.  

Potential Course Restrictions

Some online courses may have face-to-face requirements for exams, laboratory sessions, and other activities. Please review your course syllabus to determine if your online course has an on-campus laboratory or examination requirement.

Hybrid programs allow students to take a mix of online and face-to-face courses. Hybrid programs offer 50% to 85% of their courses online and the remainder of the curriculum is taken in-person on one of HCC’s campuses. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.

Language Option Restrictions

Some hybrid programs require students to participate in foreign language courses as part of the program’s required curriculum. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements and available language options. If you would like to take courses in a language that is not offered online, you would have to do so on campus.

Elective Course Restrictions

Some hybrid programs may have a limited number of elective options available, based on which of the designated electives are currently offered online.  Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements.

Required Course Restrictions

Hybrid programs require students to participate in campus-based courses as part of a given program’s required curriculum. Please contact your advisor for more information about specific program requirements. 

Potential Course Restrictions

Some online courses may have face-to-face requirements for exams, laboratory sessions, and other activities. Please review your course syllabus to determine if your online course has an on-campus laboratory or examination requirement.