Wayne Community College earns accreditation for childcare degree
By Staff Reports
Published in News on December 10, 2013 1:46 PM
Wayne Community College's Early Childhood Education program has received accreditation status from the NAEYC, the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
To earn the recognition, programs conduct a rigorous self-study process, which culminates in a report demonstrating how the program meets the NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards within the community. The program hosts an external peer review and findings are presented to the Commission on Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation.
The college was fortunate to receive a N.C. Community College System grant that funded its year-long self-study and the onsite visit by the peer review team, Instructor Sherry Granberry said. The site visit involved meetings with students, faculty, staff, administrators and advisory committee members, as well as observation of classes and tours of practicum sites.
"The purpose of the self-study and the site visit is to determine if the program meets the standards, to prove that we are committed to those standards," Ms. Granberry said.
While the result was that "they were impressed with everything," she said for the faculty at WCC, the evaluation process is ongoing. "There were some things we will change as a result of the self-study."
The accreditation report indicated that the program has a good reputation in the community and that the faculty at the campus child care center were also strong, Ms. Granberry added.
"We demonstrated that we know what quality is," Ms. Granberry said. "This shows the level of our commitment. Raising the quality of teacher education increases the quality of the early childhood programs serving young children.
"We're proud of our program and proud that the students can say they came from an accredited program."
WCC's degree program leads to an Associate in Applied Science in Early Childhood Education. Students are qualified to receive the N.C. Early Childhood Credential. The college also offers Early Childhood Education, Administrator's, Special Needs, and Infant/Toddler Care certificates.
"This is not just an honor, but also a validation that our Early Childhood Education program is as good as we believe it to be," said Dr. Kay H. Albertson, WCC president. "National accreditation means our instruction and our instructors stack up to the best in this country, and our graduates will provide a level of care that any parent should want and, we hope, will seek, for his or her child."