The policies and procedures described below apply to individuals who have successfully completed requirements for the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Early Childhood Education at a Community College in North Carolina and wish to pursue a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree with a major in Birth through Kindergarten (BK) Teacher Education at East Carolina University (ECU).

At ECU, the BK program is housed in the Department of Child Development and Family Relations (CDFR) in the College of Human Ecology (CHE).  It is a teacher education program that prepares individuals to work with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners with and without disabilities, including those at risk, and their families. Upon successful completion of all requirements for the program, graduates are recommended to the Department of Public Instruction for initial licensure to teach in the public schools of North Carolina.

To obtain the BS degree with a major in BK, three types of courses are required: Foundations Curriculum (General Education), Major (professional studies, specialty area studies, cognates), and Electives. ECU courses that are required for the BK major are listed in the document, "Check Sheet and Cumulative Record.”

When an individual applies to attend ECU, the Office of Admissions decides whether or not courses taken at another institution meet requirements for transfer. Credit will be granted for courses in which a grade of “C” or better was earned at a community college, provided that the course has been approved to satisfy the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) General Education Core.  Foundations Curriculum courses denoted with an asterisk (*) on the “Check Sheet and Cumulative Record” are required for BK majors. For a list of community college courses that will satisfy Foundations Curriculum requirements, see the document: “Foundations Curriculum Courses for AAS Early Childhood Education Students at Community Colleges in North Carolina Who Plan to Pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Birth through Kindergarten Teacher Education at East Carolina University.”

Transfer students must earn a minimum of one-half the hours of credit required for graduation at a regionally accredited senior (four-year) college or university; a minimum of 30 s.h. and one-half of hours required for the BK major must be completed at ECU. Transfer credit from two-year institutions will not be accepted for CDFR 2123, for BK curriculum/methods courses (CDFR 4321, CDFR 4322, CDFR 4323), nor any course for which a prerequisite is Admission to Upper Division in Teacher Education.

When an individual receives the “Evaluation of Transferable Courses” document from the Office of Admissions, community college courses with an EDU prefix will show NO CREDIT in the ECU Equivalent column. However, faculty in the BK program approved some EDU courses for transfer into the BK major. See the document: “Community College Education Courses (EDU Prefix) That May Be Petitioned for Transfer into the Birth through Kindergarten (BK) Teacher Education Program at East Carolina University.”

Courses must be approved for transfer by the ECU Office of Admissions before they can be applied to meet requirements for a given major. Thus, for any of the EDU courses to be used, a petition must be submitted to the Office of Admissions. The student must provide the BK adviser with a copy of her/his official transcript(s) from all institutions attended; the ECU Office of Admissions will not release transcripts sent to them in the application packet. The BK adviser will perform a course-by-course audit to establish how courses taken at the community college can be used and to determine remaining requirements.

Once the BK adviser identifies the courses to be petitioned, the student will complete a “Request for Re-Evaluation of Course which Transferred ‘By Title’” form for each course that includes the course description and the author and title of the text used in the course at the time it was taken. When those forms are complete, the adviser will submit a request to the Department Chairperson. If the Department Chairperson approves, she will send the petition to the Office of Admissions. If the Office of Admissions approves, the course will be added to the student’s Evaluation of Transferable Courses document as CDFR ELECTIVE and can be used to meet requirements for the BK major or as elective hours. Courses taken more than five years prior to admission to ECU will not be substituted for BK major courses.

Transfer students must meet the same requirements and follow the same procedures as all teacher education majors. They must complete at least 12 s.h. at ECU with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 prior to being admitted to Upper Division in Teacher Education. Requirements for Admission to Upper Division include, but are not limited to, 

• a grade of “C” or better in Early Experience course (must be taken at ECU);
• a minimum grade of “C” on all courses required for the major;
• an overall GPA of 2.5 on all work attempted at ECU;
• acceptable scores on PRAXIS I, SAT, or ACT;
• completion of computer competency requirement;
• a 250 word essay outlining reasons for wishing to pursue a career in education;
• and an interview with BK faculty members.

Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA for retention in all teacher education programs.

The final experience is a full-semester internship (student teaching) in a public school classroom with a teacher who has completed the clinical teacher training program conducted by the Office of Teacher Education at ECU. A specially trained faculty member who holds a BK license serves as the intern’s University supervisor.

Additional information about teacher education, upper division, and internship is available in the Teacher Education Handbook which can be accessed at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-educ/teached/Index.cfm.