Technical Standards have been established to provide guidance to students as to skills and abilities required to function successfully in the program and ultimately in the Early Childhood Education profession. The Early Childhood Education Department will seriously consider all academically qualified candidates provided that the technical standards can be met with or without reasonable accommodations. No essential technical standards will be waived or modified.
Students must complete the fingerprinting process through New Hampshire Background Record Checks for Licensed Child Care via the New Hampshire Connections Information System (NHCIS). Detailed information regarding the process and how to complete the required checks can be found on the NHCIS website: NHCIS Background Checks. If not already approved and employed in a NH child care program, students should begin this process as soon as possible to avoid delays in their coursework and practicum placement. Students are encouraged to contact the Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator for further guidance or questions about the background check process.
Compliance:
The College reserves the right to refuse participation in field observations, placements, or program continuation for students who fail to meet the NH background records check requirements.
A student may be terminated from a course, program, or campus due to major or repeated violations of the Student Code of Conduct (NCC Student Handbook) or standards of professionalism. Students who have failed an early childhood education course because of evidence of unsafe practice involving actions or non-actions are not eligible for reapplication to the Early Childhood Education Program. The student may exercise their right to appeal the decision as outlined in the NCC Student Handbook.
Students in Early Childhood Education program must have sufficient strength, stamina, motor coordination and sensory capabilities to perform the following:
- Standing for sustained periods of time, walking, running, bending, and sitting on the floor to meet children’s needs and accomplish tasks;
- Frequent lifting, moving and transferring children, especially infants and toddlers;
- Sufficient visual and hearing acuity to ensure a safe environment; and ability to respond quickly to children, colleagues, and professional partners in the event of emergency;
- Sufficient verbal ability to express and exchange information and ideas as well as to interpret important instructions to children, colleagues, professional partners, and parents;
- Sufficient skills in written expression to accurately record children’s daily progress and milestones as well as medications administered, accident and suspected child abuse/neglect reports, etc.;
- Ability to work with frequent interruptions, to respond appropriately to unexpected situations including situations requiring immediate crisis response and role responsibility exchange; to demonstrate safe and required care for children, families, colleagues and the workplace as a whole; and to cope with substantial variations in workload and stress levels;
- Ability to consistently attend and participate in classes and practice in a timely manner;
- Ability to demonstrate and maintain organizational skills and time management in classes and at the practicum site;
- Ability to respond to children’s personal needs, including changing diapers, in a manner that safeguards the health and safety of the student, children, and staff;
- Ability to work in a professional and respectful manner with a diverse range of children including children of different races, cultures, religions, and ethnicities as well as children with a wide range of disabling conditions;
- Ability to maintain proper boundaries in both the school and home environments; and
- Ability and disposition to adhere to and practice the Code of Ethical Conduct set forth by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.