The Early Childhood Program Administration Concentration is designed for students who would like to run their own business in early childhood or work as program directors, assistant directors, or lead teachers in an early childhood setting. Individuals will graduate with a strong background in early childhood and early childhood administration.
Students pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Program Administration can earn an Early Childhood Program Administration Certificate of Achievement while working towards the Associate degree. Students who complete the CNM Early Childhood Program Administration Certificate are eligible to apply for an Early Childhood Program Administration certificate from the New Mexico Office of Child Development. This certificate meets CYFD regulations for director qualifications. For more information, contact the Office of Child Development.
Students completing a degree in Early Childhood Multicultural Education may also meet the requirements for the Child Development, Certificate of Achievement. This CNM certificate fulfills the coursework requirement for the New Mexico Child Development Certificate. Individuals must be currently working in a child-care setting to qualify for the state certificate. To apply for the New Mexico Child Development Certificate, an applicant must request a Certificate Packet from the New Mexico Kids Network office by calling (505) 277-1118. Successful completion requires verification of coursework completion, a professional resource file, a family opinion questionnaire, an observation, and oral interview.
Students completing all of the ECME coursework within any degree concentration are eligible to apply for the One Year Vocational Certificate issued by the New Mexico Office of Child Development. For more information, contact the Office of Child Development.
This Associates of Arts program meets the universal coursework requirements as established by the New Mexico Early Childhood Higher Education Task Force acting under the authority of the New Mexico Early Learning Advisory Council.
Students who wish to transfer to a four-year institution and become licensed teachers should earn passing scores on the NES Essential Academic Skills Subtests 1, 2, and 3 and have these scores sent to their transferring institution. The Essential Academic Skills Subtest test students’ knowledge of writing, reading, and math, and the tests can be taken individually or all at once. Students should consider taking each subtest after completion of that subject area of their CNM program (e.g. take the reading and writing subtests after completion of ENG 1102 and/or ENG 2219/220 and the math subtest after the student’s final math course). For additional information and to register, please see the NES Web site at www.nestest.com.
Special Requirements
Students must pass a criminal background check prior to beginning their field/practicum experience.
All Courses required for transfer must be taken for a traditional grade of A, B, C, etc.
Some courses are not eligible for Financial Aid. Please check the list here when considering a course.
Career Opportunities
Students in early childhood are employed almost immediately upon graduation. There is tremendous need for well-qualified early care and education workers in some of the following areas: child care, educational assistants, head start and early care teachers, early care administration, early intervention and home visiting. Work is available with programs such as Head Start, Even Start, private and public child-care facilities and preschools serving the needs of children birth to age five. Private and public schools also employ students as educational assistants.
For the graduation policy refer to the Graduating from CNM section, cnm.edu or the Students tab in my CNM.
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