Early Childhood Education, B.A.
Program Coordinator: Jessica R. Grubaugh, MAEd
Program Overview
The Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program is offered fully online and qualifies graduates to earn both a baccalaureate degree in Early Childhood Education and an Ohio teaching license in Early Childhood Education with the Early Childhood Generalist Endorsement. The Early Childhood Education program is accredited by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Admission Requirements
Applicants to the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program are selected on the basis of their academic background and experience. Admission requirements include the following:
- submission of official transcripts of all previous college or university courses completed to date; (applicants without any prior college or university coursework must submit an official high school transcript or GED, including ACT scores, if taken);
- an overall GPA of 2.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for all previous college our university coursework completed to date (an applicant with a minimum cumulative GPA of less than 2.50 or who has not completed any prior college or university coursework to date may apply for probationary admittance);
- completion of a statement of purpose and contact information for at least two references;
- completion of an admission interview or seminar with the GPS Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator;
- completion of an online application and Registration Agreement Form.
Applicants from countries and US territories in which English is not the primary language must also provide recent evidence of proficiency in English by scoring 80 or above on the Internet-based TOEFL with subscores in writing, reading, speaking and listening of at least 20; or scoring 550 or above on the written TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with subscores in writing and reading of at least 50. All tests of English proficiency must have been taken in the last two years to be considered for acceptance.
Some applicants may be admitted under probationary admission status if they satisfy each of the following requirements:
- earned a 2.00-2.40 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale) for all previous college or university coursework completed to date (applicants who have no previous college or university coursework may only receive probationary admittance);
- complete all other regular admission requirements as noted above.
To move from probationary admission status to regular admission status, a student must successfully complete each of the first three courses in his/her program with final grades of "B-" or better and with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50.
Program Continuation
A student who has enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program with regular admission status will be placed on academic probation at any time that his/her cumulative GPA falls below a 2.50. The student who is placed on academic probation must achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 at the completion of an additional six (6) credit hours.
The student is removed from probation after retaking and earning a grade of “B-” or better in all courses in which he/she originally earned a less than satisfactory grade, or at the end of any semester in which his/her cumulative GPA meets or exceeds 2.50. Students placed on academic probation must also achieve a minimum grade of “B-” in each of the first three consecutive courses during the probationary term in order to avoid dismissal.
A candidate will be dismissed from the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education program after:
- receiving two consecutive failing grades; and/or
- failing to achieve the required grade point average in the program at the end of any probationary period.
Course Requirements
Required Courses
| ITDS-2051 | Personal Development & Research Skil | 1.0 credits |
| ECED-3102 | General Teaching Methods | 2.0 credits |
| ECED-4114 | Educational Technology | 4.0 credits |
| ECED-4054 | Social Studies Cia Grades 1-5 | 4.0 credits |
| ECED-4064 | Math Cia Grades 1-5 | 4.0 credits |
| ECED-4074 | Science Cia Grades 1-5 | 4.0 credits |
| ECED-3041 | Developmental Literacy Lab | 1.0 credits |
| ECED-3043 | Developmental Literacy | 3.0 credits |
| ECED-3063 | Basics of Phonics Instruction | 3.0 credits |
| ECED-4033 | Content Reading | 3.0 credits |
| MCED-3023 | Adolescent Literature | 3.0 credits |
| ECED-4124 | Classroom Management | 4.0 credits |
| ECED-4103 | Unit Planning | 3.0 credits |
| ECED-4142 | Early Childhood Integrated Field Experience | 2.0 credits |
| EDUC-3103 | Introduction to Multicultural Education | 3.0 credits |
| ECED-4092 | Advanced Field Experience | 2.0 credits |
| ECED-4001 | Early Childhood Endorsement Practicum | 1.0 credits |
| EDUC-4092 | Student Teaching | 10. credits |
Required Prerequisite Education Courses
| EDUC-1022 | Foundations of Education | 2.0 credits |
| EDUC-2023 | The Learner and the Learning Process | 3.0 credits |
| EDUC-2122 | Language and Literacy Fundamentals | 2.0 credits |
| ECED-2012 | Building Family and Community Relations | 2.0 credits |
| ECED-2014 | Art, Music, and Movement | 4.0 credits |
| ECED-2063 | Curriculum in Early Childhood Education | 3.0 credits |
| ECED-2061 | Preschool Field Experience | 1.0 credits |
| ECED-2072 | Children's Literature for Early Childhood | 2.0 credits |
| ECED-3012 | Observation, Assessment & Documentation Grades | 2.0 credits |
| ECED-3093 | Inclusion & Differentiated Instruction | 3.0 credits |
| TESL-2003 | Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment | 3.0 credits |
Licensure Prerequisite Total 27
Required Cognate Courses
Additional General Education Courses (33)
Total 123 Hours
Graduation Requirements
The student must complete a minimum of 123 credit hours (with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50) including:
- Successful completion of the GPS General Education Core (39 hours):
- 15 credit hours in Arts and Humanities (Minimum of 3 credit hours in an English composition course with a research writing component; minimum of 3 credit hours in Bible/Theology)
- 15 credit hours in Natural and Social Sciences, and Mathematics (Minimum of 3 credit hours in Mathematics; minimum of 3 credit hours in Social Science; and minimum of 3 credit hours in Natural Science with laboratory)
- 9 credit hours in Liberal Arts electives
- Completion of at least 39 credit hours of upper division course work (3000 level or higher);
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in all Education courses;
- Successful completion of either the 123 credit hours of the Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education curriculum with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50. A student who receives a grade below "C-" in any Education course will be required to repeat that course until a grade of C- or better is earned. All repeated coursework to replace grade of D+, D, F, W, or X is at the student's expense.
Early Childhood Education Major Requirements (84 credit hours)
- completion of all required coursework and deficiencies with a minimum GPA of 3.00 and with no grade lower than a C-;
- satisfactory recommendation from student teaching University supervisor;
- completion and submission of the Teacher Performance Assessment;
- no more than two (2) Yellow Flag Alert Reports.
Recommendation for Licensure
- pass all required Ohio licensure exams;
- complete background checks and fingerprinting (if not done within the past 12 months);
- submit application for licensure and pay fee.