The Early Childhood Education Compact
For students transferring from Massachusetts community colleges to public colleges and universities offering Early Childhood Education licensure at the baccalaureate level and who agree to the compact.
Section I. Requirement for Early Childhood Education Compact Status
A student shall be eligible for Early Childhood Education Compact status if they have met the following requirements:
- Achieved a passing score on the Communication and Literacy Skills Test (CLST) of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) (Note: This requirement may be completed after receipt of the associate degree)
- Completed an associate degree with a minimum of 60 credit hours exclusive of developmental coursework
- Achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average of not less than 2.75 (in a 4.0 system). (Note: at their discretion, individual institutions may require a different grade point average)
- Completed the following 45-60 credit core curriculum, exclusive of developmental coursework. The core is designed to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth Transfer Compact, the Office of Child Care Services qualifications for professional child care workers (See 102 CMR 7.07(21) of the Standards for the Licensure or Approval of Group Child Care Centers and School Age Child Care Programs), and the Department of Education's regulations for licensure as an Early Childhood Teacher. (See Section 7.05 (1) and Section 7.06: (5) of the Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval).
Composition/Writing - 6 credits
*Humanities and Social Science
(9 credits of each) - 18 credits
In addition, students should select courses from these areas that will help prepare them for the Subject Matter Test for Early Childhood Education of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL). Otherwise, they are unlikely to be able to meet the demands of the test and their baccalaureate degree in the 60-68 credits normally required upon transfer to a participating four-year institution. The topics listed below cover the humanities and social science topics that will be addressed in the subject matter test.
*Children's Literature (Students not taking this course must take 2 of the courses listed under "3-6 credits" below.)
History, Geography, Government, Economics
The Arts, basic principles and concepts. (Studio and performance courses will not prepare students for the MTEL)
Early Childhood Growth and Development
OR Child Psychology course (Birth to age 8 is required for OCCS certification.) (If course is offered by a Social Sciences department, it can be used to satisfy part of the 9 credits of Social Science required above) 3 S.H.
Physical Science with lab or Appropriate Integrated Laboratory Science 4 S.H.
Biological Science with lab or Appropriate Integrated Laboratory Science 4 S.H.
Mathematics (Course should cover number sense and numeration; geometry and measurement; patterns
and functions; and data analysis.) 3 S.H.
* These course should be a course from the appropriate department and NOT be an education course.
Early Childhood Education courses (All course curricula must address issues, adaptations, and procedures for children with diverse needs, including those with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and those who are gifted and talented. 12 S.H.
Introduction to Early Childhood Education with Field Experience (Should include foundations and state and national frameworks.) 3 S.H.
Early Childhood Education Practicum: (Should be a capstone course of at least 150 hours over a minimum of 8 weeks in PreK-8 education (includes pre-school settings approved by OCCS) and be accompanied by a theoretical component that integrates the practicum experience with previous classroom learning.) 3-6 S.H.
Choose 1-2 courses from the following list of topics: (Students who have not selected Children's Literature will need 2. See note below.) 3-6 credits
Course Addressing Issues, Adaptations and Procedures for Children with Special Needs (Should include I.E.P. preparation, implementation and evaluation. To qualify as OCCS "Children with special needs, birth-16 years" course, the course must specifically address inclusion of children with special needs under age 3.)
Early Childhood Curriculum*
Program Planning*
Behavior Management*
Preparation courses for Academic Major after Transfer (liberal arts and sciences courses may also fulfill other core requirements listed above) 9-15 credits
or Additional Early Childhood Education courses provided they are transferable to specific institutions through separate articulation agreements or course equivalencies
The sending institution is responsible for identifying on the transcript each student who is a candidate for transfer under this compact.
* One of these courses, in addition to Child Growth and Development, is required for OCCS Lead Teacher Certification.
Note: to qualify for OCCS Lead Teacher, students must have four courses in Early Childhood. One must be Child Development, which is required in this transfer compact program, and another must be selected from among the asterisked courses listed above. The Introduction to Early Childhood Education will count as the third, and Children's Literature can count as the fourth. Students who do not select Children's Literature as one of their humanities/social science courses will need to take two courses from the four listed above.
Section II: Supplemental Material
In order to facilitate the transfer process and to document their future eligibility for licensure, students are strongly urged to create and maintain portfolios of their associate degree work. Portfolios should include course syllabi, papers and other student-created products, with particular emphasis on products that provide evidence of meeting the content and professional standards for teacher licensure. (See the Regulations for Teacher Licensure, Section 7.06 (5) and 7.08.)
Section III: Credits to be Transferred
Students fulfilling the requirements of the Early Childhood Education Compact are guaranteed a minimum of 60 transfer credits, exclusive of developmental credit as defined by the Board of Higher Education, applied to their degree requirements at the state college or university. The credits will be applied as follows:
- institutional general education requirements;
- academic major requirements;
- Early childhood education requirements;
- free electives.
Only college-level course credits consistent with the standards set forth in the undergraduate experience recommendations are included under this compact. Credits awarded by the sending institution through College Level Examination Program (CLEP), challenge examinations, and other life-experience evaluations for course credit will be included when the community college certifies that a student qualifies under this compact.
Section IV: Credits Beyond the Associate Degree
To complete the baccalaureate degree and receive early childhood education licensure at the baccalaureate level, a student who transfers under this compact may not be required to take more than 68 additional credits at the receiving institution unless the requirements of the student's academic major are such that:
The combination of additional requirements in institutional general education requirements, academic major requirements, and early childhood education requirements total more than 68 credits.
Under these circumstances, transfer students will be subject to the same requirements as native students. (The term native students refers to students who began their undergraduate education at the baccalaureate institution.)
It is further understood that receiving institutions may require additional coursework if Department of Education licensure requirements change during the course of the associate degree.
Section V: Admission to Competitive Majors or Programs
If because of space or fiscal limitations the receiving institution does not admit all qualified applicants to a given major or program, the receiving institution will use the same criteria for applicants who are transfer students under this compact as it does for its native students.
Section VI: Early Childhood Education Transfer Coordinating Committee
An Early Childhood Education Transfer Coordinating Committee, convened by the Board of Higher Education, will provide implementation and oversight of the Early Childhood Education Compact. The Coordinating Committee will consist of a total of 11 members: six members who are education faculty/administrators familiar with licensure regulations (two from the community colleges appointed by the community college executive office, two from the state colleges appointed by the State College Council of Presidents Office and two from the University appointed by the President's Office in consultation with the campuses); the three Joint Admissions Steering Committee co-chairs (one representing the community colleges, the state colleges and the university campuses, respectively); and a representative from each of the following: the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, the Office of Child Care Services, the Department of Education and child care providers.
The coordinating committee will monitor, evaluate and, when necessary, modify the administration of the Early Childhood Education Compact. In addition, the Committee should implement guidelines that are consistent across the system to address such issues as: professional development, student advising, preparation for the Center for Language Studies and Speech Technology (CLST) of Massachusetts Test for Education Licensure (MTEL), and curriculum development. The Early Childhood Education Transfer Coordinating Committee will work to create a system for evaluating the effectiveness of this compact, and will assist the campuses with developing courses that meet the Department of Education's core content knowledge requirements and the Office For Child Care Services' professional child care requirements for certification.
The Coordinating Committee will monitor, evaluate and, when necessary, modify the administration of the Elementary Education Compact. In addition, the Committee should implement guidelines that are consistent across the system to address such issues as: professional development, student advising, preparation for the CLST of MTEL, and curriculum development. The Elementary Education Transfer Coordinating Committee will work to create a system for evaluating the effectiveness of this Compact, and will assist the campuses with developing courses that meet the Department of Education's core content knowledge areas.
Section VII: Publication of Requirements
Each public college and university that accepts this policy shall include in its official undergraduate catalog the provisions of the Early Childhood Education Compact. Each campus agrees to use its best effort to provide participating community college, state college or university campuses, respectively, with prompt notifications of changes in programs and curricula.
Section VIII: Transfer Records
The student with Early Childhood Education Compact status will be furnished by the receiving institution a list of courses to be fulfilled to earn a bachelors degree no later than the end of the first semester at the receiving institution.
Section IX: Student Appeals
A student who believes that the provisions of this compact have not been applied fairly to their transfer application has the right to appeal.
Initially, differences of interpretation regarding the award of transfer credit shall be resolved between the student and the institution. The student shall present their evaluation of the situation to the institution from which they are transferring. Representatives from the two institutions shall then have the opportunity to resolve the differences.
Absent a satisfactory resolution, differences of interpretation may be presented to the Joint Admissions Agreement Subcommittee for Appeals.
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