For decades, the vast majority of students and employers have expressed high satisfaction in comments about the UAF Early Childhood Education Program. Furthermore, faculty have continuously monitored student success, as well as national trends, and have adjusted curriculum, course content and delivery methods according to any needs that were perceived.
While these qualitative measures have been helpful and valid, we realized as part of the program self-study process for national accreditation, as well as the UAF Program Review in 2014 and the annual UAF report on Student Learning Outcomes, that more quantitative data should be a fundamental part of curriculum decisions and program improvement. Toward that end, for several years, and intensely from 2014- the present, ECE staff and faculty have been diligently working to develop measurements aligned to the national standards for AAS degree-granting programs. As the program gains data from the common assignments in each course, there will be more information posted. At this time, three of the measurements indicative of program success are listed below:
Outcome Measure #1: Number of Students who Completed the Program
The chart below shows the number of students who completed the program for the five 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 (at the time of completion) |
| 21/22 | 11 | 36 | 64 |
| 20/21 | 14 | 0 | 100 |
| 19/20 | 12 | 0 | 100 |
| 18/19 | 7 | 14 (1 person) | 86 |
| 17/18 | 12 | 0 | 100 |
Quantitative conclusion: There are few, if any, students in the ECE program who attend as full-time students.
Based on faculty information, a qualitative conclusion: Most students are working a significant amount of time and going to school part time. Many also have primary responsibilities at home, raising young children in their own families. Those who begin the program as full-time students are often hired and working in the profession before they complete the degree program. Since many employers subsidize the cost of attending ECE classes, taking a job before graduation can sometimes help students pay for college. Not only does working in early care and education mean they gain an income, but they can reduce their college expenses, even though it takes them longer.
Outcome Measure #2: The Program Completion Rate
The ECE degree is 60 credits, so its published time frame for full-time students to complete is 2 years, or 6 terms. The following chart shows the percentage of full-time students completing the program within the program’s published time frame.
For national accreditation, the program must supply the information for the 150% indicator and may choose to report on either the 100%, 200% (or twice) or 300% (three times) indicator. The UAF ECE program chose to report on the 200% time frame, so that is what is shown here. Note the data is cumulative, so students completing in the 100% indicator would also be included as having completed within the 150%, 200% and 300% times.
| Academic year in which a Fall cohort of full-time students enrolled at the institution (select three sequential years) | Percentage of those students who completed the program within 150% of the published time frame | Percentage of those students who completed the program within 100%, 200% (twice) or 300% (three times) of the published time frame |
|
Fall 2016 2 admits |
150% Spring 2019 /50 % 1 graduate |
200% Spring 2020 / 50% 1 graduate |
|
Fall 2017 6 admits |
150% Spring 2020 /0% 0 graduate |
200% Spring 2021 / 0% 0 graduate |
|
Fall 2018 3 admits |
150% Spring 2021 / 67% 2 graduates |
200% Spring 2022 / 67% 2 graduates |
|
Fall 2019 1 admits |
150% Spring 2022 / 100% 1 graduate |
200% Spring 2023 / 100% 1 graduate |
|
Fall 2020 2 admits |
150% Spring 2023 / 0% 0 graduate |
N/A |
UAF is an open enrollment University. Students are admitted to the ECE A.A.S. program in all recognized terms, fall, spring and summer. Consequently, there are not any specific cohorts that start, participate in all coursework together, and complete the program at the same time. Students at UAF also tend to be non-traditional, meaning that they tend to register for classes on a part-time basis. Very few ECE A.A.S. students have a full-time status. Institutional Research data averages the length of time for a student to complete the degree as 10.8 years.
Outcome Measure #3: Institutional Selected Data re: Students Who Are Working in the Profession or Continuing Their Education After Graduation
The following chart shows the number and percentage of program graduates employed in the early childhood profession or pursuing further education in the profession within one year of graduation for each of the five most recent academic years for which information is available.
| Academic Year | Number of Graduates | Number of Graduates (and % of total) who are employed in the early childhood profession within one year of graduation* | Number of Graduates (and % of total) who are pursuing further education in the early childhood profession within one year of graduation* |
| 21/22 | 11 | 100% | 36% |
| 20/21 | 14 | 100% | 0% |
| 19/20 | 13 | 92% | 38% |
| 18/19 | 5 | 100% | 60% |
| 17/18 | 12 | 11/92% | 4/36% |
*The figures in these two columns will not add up to 100% since some students are both working and continuing their education.
** The UAF ECE program has a long record of tracking graduates, as it has been a consistent measure for program success under various university initiatives. Over time, most years show 90-100% of the graduates from the AAS program either working in the profession or furthering their education. Many AAS graduates do both. In addition to the data collected for national accreditation, an additional 5 years is included.
