AGENDA ITEM III D
PROPOSED NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAM
LOUISIANA DELTA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
A.S. IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
BACKGROUND INFORMATIONLouisiana Delta Community College (LDCC) was chartered in 1997 to serve eleven parishes and began admitting students in August, 2001. If approved, this would be the fifth program offered by the College.
STAFF ANALYSIS 1. Description/Objectives
This program is primarily designed to produce qualified applicants for primary teaching and teaching-aide positions at Head Start centers and other pre-K education and daycare facilities.
2. Need
Delgado, Nunez, SLCC, McNeese, LSUE, LSUA, SUS all have similar associate-level programs; programs of this type and level thus exist in every area of the state but the northeast. Need is therefore critical, particularly in light of new federal standards requiring that by September 30, 2003, at least 50% of Head Start classroom teachers hold either an associate degree in early childhood education or an associate degree in a field related to early childhood education, combined with experience teaching preschool children.
3. Curriculum
The proposed program requires 27 hours of general education, 21 hours of core courses, and 14 hours of required, related courses. Total hours: 62. Core coursework topics include an overview of the field, language acquisition/development, mathematical comprehension/development, the formation of
appropriate curricula and materials, lab experiences in planning age-appropriate activities, and
supervised work experience in an approved setting. Required related coursework covers such areas as computer literacy, communication, psychology, nutrition and health, first aid and CPR.
Articulation agreements with ULM’s baccalaureate program in Elementary Education/Early Childhood Education are being negotiated; since ULM’s teacher preparation programs are being revised, it is
premature to expect full articulation agreements to be established in final form. The College considers its relationship to ULM’s teacher education faculty to be strong.
The staff had some concerns about the content and structure of the curriculum, as follows:
Q. A common required course offering in Early Childhood Education programs is a course in nutrition.
A. Health and Physical Education 210 - Personal and Community Health has been added to the Required Related Courses portion of the curriculum.
Q. What is the rationale for placing coursework in pedagogical methods ahead of coursework generally considered preparatory for courses in pedagogy?
A. Changes have been made to the sequencing of the curriculum to ensure a logical progression from core knowledge to more specific material regarding pedagogical methods.
Q. At which licensed day care facilities will lab experiences and practica be conducted? A. LDCC has developed a working agreement with the Morehouse Parish Adult
Education Center to work cooperatively in the new licensed day care facility nearing completion on site at that Center.
4. Students
Based on data from other two-year institutions, the College projects the following enrollment:
New students Continuing (46%) Headcount FTE (63%) Graduates (17%) Year One 46 -46 29 -Year Two 37 21 58 37 6 Year Three 46 27 73 46 9 Year Four 57 33 90 56 14 Year Five 71 41 112 70 19
A significant proportion of entering students are expected to be current workers in child care, Head Start, or other early childhood education facilities.
5. Faculty
the curriculum. The remaining courses will require the employment of an additional full-time faculty member to direct the program and additional adjunct faculty. A second full-time faculty member will be required in 2005. Needed FTE faculty figures are as follows:
Year One 1.2 Year Two 1.5 Year Three 1.9 Year Four 2.3 Year Five 2.9
The College projects an overall student-faculty ratio of approximately 24:1.
6. Library and Information Resources
LDCC is developing its library holdings to provide a core collection. Since the current purchase of books and periodicals was guided by the needs of general education offerings, holdings specifically related to this proposed program have not yet been acquired. A formal agreement with the UL-Monroe allows LDCC students complete access to ULM’s library facilities.
Within the next five years, the LDCC will need to establish a permanent collection in a formal library to meet core and individual program needs. Initially, hard copy materials will be housed primarily at the ULM library, but plans are to install a learning resource center on each satellite campus site that is complete with computer stations providing on-line access to interlibrary loan service and LDCC permanent holdings.
7. Facilities and Equipment
Present facilities for LDCC include space in five parishes in eight (8) separate locations. Office, finance and student services are presently housed in the LTC-Delta Ouachita Campus. For instruction, LDCC has access to high school classrooms, such as its permitted use of Carroll High School of Monroe’s excellent science lab facilities.
Lab experiences and practica will be conducted at the Morehouse Parish Adult Education Center, which has nearly completed on site a new licensed day care facility. LDCC has held courses at the Center since 2001 and enjoys a strong relationship with its administration. The College continues to search for additional partners for the lab and practica portions of the curriculum.
8. Administration
The program will be housed in the current Division of Arts and Science and directed by a full-time Director reporting to the Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs.
9. Accreditation
No accrediting agency currently exists for this type of program, but one is in the process of being formed. When such an agency becomes recognizably viable, the accreditation of this program (and programs like it elsewhere) by that agency will likely become mandatory. Before the College pursues such accreditation, however, it must first achieve institutional accreditation with SACS.
10. Costs
Anticipated costs for the first five years of the program are shown below.
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Personnel $36,000 $39,000 $42,000 $72,000 $75,000 Library $ 3,139 $ 1,964 $ 464 $ 464 $ 464 TOTAL $39,139 $40,964 $42,464 $72,464 $75,464
Revenue for support of the proposed program will come from tuition generated by the program, less 20% for student financial assistance.
2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
Revenue $31,050 $39,150 $49,950 $60,750 $75,600 Costs $39,139 $40,964 $42,464 $72,464 $75,464 Net - $8,089 - $1,814 $ 7,486 -$11,714 $ 136
The staff notes that the net figures do not take into account the the additional revenue the College will likely receive for student FTE reimbursement in 2002-2003. FTE reimbursement will more than likely defray the projected net costs of the program.
STAFF SUMMARY
Need is urgent. Curriculum is consistent with established policies and curricular norms and is largely consistent with revised state standards and guidelines; the staff, however, expects the curriculum to be fine-tuned and formal articulation agreements reached once curricular reforms in early childhood education are implemented. Projections for enrollment are reasonable and probably conservative. Plans are to hire an appropriately-qualified full-time director. Plans for sufficient library access are in place; the use of the Morehouse Adult Education Center’s new day care facility is commendable, but the staff considers it prudent to monitor the coming on-line of that facility to ensure that the practicum portion of the curriculum is offered at a level of quality. Administrative arrangements are reasonable. The issue of accreditation warrants monitoring. The budget is reasonable.
Consequently, the staff recommends conditional approval, requiring the submission of an annual report addressing the concerns of the staff as expressed above. When an appropriately-qualified, full-time faculty member has been hired to direct the program, an implementation date for the program will be considered.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The staff recommends that the Academic and Student Affairs Committee grant conditional approval for the proposed A.S. degree in Elementary Childhood Education (CIP Code 13.1204) at Delta Community College, with the stipulation that by August 1, 2002, and on that date for two years thereafter, the College shall submit a progress report to the
Commissioner of Higher Education addressing weakness and problematic areas identified by the staff summary as follows:
1. Articulation of Coursework with Revised Teacher Preparation Programs at
University of Louisiana at Monroe;
2. Numbers and Qualifications of Faculty;
3. Availability and Adequacy of Facilities and Equipment.
When an appropriately-qualified, full-time faculty member has been hired to direct the program, the Board of Regents shall consider a date for program implementation.
