Early Childhood (AAS) Accreditation
The Early Childhood A.A.S. program at Hudson Valley Community College is accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, www.naeyc.org. The accreditation term runs from March 2025 through August 2027.
The accreditation process involves a comprehensive self-study to align the program with the 2021 NAEYC Higher Education Accreditation Standards. The mission of the NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs system is to set a standard of excellence for early childhood education degree programs and to recognize programs that have demonstrated that they meet this standard, thereby benefiting the programs, and young children, families, and communities.
Outcomes
As part of the Early Childhood A.A.S. program achieving and maintaining NAEYC accreditation, we are required to report annually on the program's assessment of candidates, related to the 2021 NAEYC Higher Education Accreditation Standards, including outcomes specific to each accredited degree program.
Outcome Measure #1: The number of program completers for the three most recent academic years.
| Academic Year | Number of program completers | % of program completers who were attending full-time (at the time of completion) | % of program completers who were attending part-time 1 (at the time of completion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | 11 of 19 = 58% | 8 of 19 = 42% |
| 2024 | 28 | 17 of 28 = 61% | 11 of 28 = 39% |
| 2023 | 39 | 15 of 39 = 38% | 24 of 39 = 62% |
Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate
The published timeframe 2 for full-time candidates to complete the early childhood program is two years (four semesters at 15 credits a semester)| Academic year in which a Fall cohort of full-time candidates enrolled in the program. | Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 150% of the published timeframe | Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 100% of the published timeframe. |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 10 of 18 = 56% | 10 of 18 = 56% |
| 2021 | 9 of 26 = 35% | 5 of 26 = 19% |
| 2020 | 12 of 33 = 36% | 11 of 33 = 33% |
Outcome Measure #3: Institutional Selected Data
The fall-to-fall retention rate in the program for each of the three most recently completed academic years
| Academic Year | % of Part-Time Candidates Enrolled (% of Total Enrollment) | Retention Rate among Part-Time Candidates | % of Full-Time Candidates Enrolled (% of Total Enrollment) | Retention Rate among Full-Time Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025 | 27 of 68 = 40% | 15 of 27 = 56% | 41 of 68 = 60% | 18 of 41 = 44% |
| 2023-2024 | 31 of 95 = 33% | 13 of 31 = 42% | 64 of 95 = 67% | 28 of 64 = 44% |
| 2022-2023 | 47 of 114 = 41% | 16 of 47 = 34% | 67 of 114 = 59% | 27 of 67 = 40% |
Institutionally designed measure that speaks to candidate outcomes in the program: Average GPA of the graduating class.
| Academic Year | Early Childhood, AAS (ECD) Graduate Average | GPA Hudson Valley Community College Graduating Class Average GPA |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025* | 3.35 | 3.19 |
| 2023-2024** | 3.36 | 3.16 |
| 2022-2023*** |
3.22 | 3.15 |
*18 out of 19 ECD Graduates in 2024-25 were either on the Dean’s List or President’s List during their time at HVCC
**26 out of 28 ECD Graduates in 2023-24 were either on the Dean’s List or President’s List during their time at HVCC
***27 out of 39 ECD Graduates in 2022-23 were either on the Dean’s List or President’s List during their time at HVCC
1 Part-time status is defined by the institution.
2 “The Commission defines the published timeframe as the number of terms an individual student 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 student was enrolled in the program. Students taking longer due to reasons other than university-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 .
Learning Objectives
The Early Childhood AAS program prepares degree candidates to be proficient in the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators.
Below is a summary of candidate performance data on the NAEYC standards - Fall 2024 through Spring 2025.
Standard 1: Child Development and Learning in Context
| Key Element | Does Not Meet | Meets Standard | Exceeds Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | 0% | 22% | 78% |
| 1b | 3% | 36% | 94% |
| 1c | 0% | 22% | 78% |
| 1d | 0% | 5% | 95% |
Standard 2: Family–Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections
| Key Element | Does Not Meet | Meets Standard | Exceeds Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2a | 6% | 17% | 78% |
| 2b | 0% | 8% | 92% |
| 2c | 9% | 0% | 91% |
Standard 3: Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment
| Key Element | Does Not Meet | Meets Standard | Exceeds Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3a | 0% | 4% | 96% |
| 3b | 0% | 4% | 96% |
| 3c | 0% | 4% | 96% |
| 3d | 0% | 0% | 100% |
Standard 4: Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices
| Key Element | Does Not Meet | Meets Standard | Exceeds Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4a | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 4b | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| 4c | 0% | 0% | 100% |
Standard 5: Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early Childhood Curriculum
| Key Element | Does Not Meet | Meets Standard | Exceeds Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5a | 6% | 5% | 90% |
| 5b | 0% | 16% | 84% |
| 5c | 6% | 6% | 89% |
Standard 6: Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator
| Key Element | Does Not Meet | Meets Standard | Exceeds Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6a | 0% 13% 88% |
1% | 98% |
| 6b | 7% 0% 93% |
11% | 88% |
| 6c | 0% 12% 88% |
9% | 90% |
| 6d | 13% 0% 88% |
0% | 98% |
| 6e | 38% 0% 63% |
4% | 96% |