Frequently Asked Questions

  • Starting Fall 2025, we will be offering a 24-unit CBE certificate in Early Childhood Education (ECE).
  • As we develop more programs offered via CBE, you can find them here!
  • Think of a course as a “cluster” of learning – a set of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to a topic.
  • A competency is a clear, measureable subset of those knowledge, skills, and abilities that can be assessed with a single assessment.
  • The faculty have worked to “deconstruct” their regular courses into multiple competencies.
  • For example:
Traditional Course Competency Equivalents

ECE 17: Principles and Practices

3-unit course

Course description: "This course is an examination of the historical contexts and theoretical perspectives of developmentally appropriate practice in early care and education for children from birth through age eight. Students will explore the typical roles and expectations of early childhood educators and identify professional ethics, career pathways, and professional standards. This course includes an introduction to best practices for developmentally appropriate learning environments, curriculum, and effective pedagogy for young children including how play contributes to children's learning, growth, and development.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ECE 1CB: History of Early Childhood Education

1 unit 

Student will be able to identify the historical roots of early childhood education and compare and contrast different ECE theoretical perspectives and philosophies, differentiate between various types of settings in relation to the ages served, regulations, and teacher requirements.

ECE 2CB: Theory and Practice

1 unit

Student will be able to identify supports for first and dual-language learners in developing English language and literacy skills including support for the home language, explain how theories of learning and development guide early childhood environment design, curriculum, and teaching strategies, explain the ongoing curriculum cycle of observation, planning, implementation, and assessment, and compare and contrast principles of positive guidance and interactions. 

ECE 3CB: Professional Roles

1 unit

Student will be able to identify the roles and responsibilities of an early childhood educator for curriculum and teaching, family engagement, ethical practice, and professional interactions with others in the classroom, and develop an initial personal philosophy of early childhood teaching. 
  • For Early Childhood Education, students will be registered in three competencies and can work on those competencies simultaneously.  
  • Once all three competencies are mastered, students will be registered in the next set of three competencies, and so on.
  • Students will have the opportunity to utilize a variety of formative assessments (“learning activities”) to practice their understanding of what they are learning. These learning activities will be reviewed by faculty, and students will receive feedback to help them better prepare for the final assessment.
  • Each competency will have a single, summative (“final”) assessment. This assessment could be a paper, a project, a video recorded demonstration, a portfolio, or other appropriate assessment of the student’s learning. The summative assessment will be the only assessment formally evaluated by faculty for mastery.
  • “Mastery” means that you have achieved the ability to apply your knowledge, skills, and abilities for that competency to a level of 80%.
  • “Mastery+” means that you have reached a 90% level of competency.
  • Each competency and evaluative mark (“Mastery” or “Mastery+”) will be recorded on your competency transcript.
  • When you have reached Mastery for all the competencies associated with a traditional course, then the traditional credit course will be posted to your standard transcript, with an equivalent letter grade (“B” or “A”).
  • In traditional courses, all assignments are required on specific dates set by the instructor, whether you are ready for that exam or not. Assignments and deadlines don’t wait even if you have a family or work emergency.  
  • In CBE, you consult with your instructor to determine which formative assessment learning activities are going to be the most useful to your learning experience. You decide when you are ready to attempt your summative final assessment.  If you need a few days or even a week off from school to deal with something in your life, you can take it!  And you won’t fall behind.
  • In your first meeting with your CBE Counselor, you’ll discuss the idea of “walk-jog-run” – how much time do you have in your life to devote to your learning, and, based on familiarity with the content, how quickly or slowly do you think you will be able to move through the content.
  • You control your learning journey!
  • Each competency has a unit value, and the cost is $46/unit, just like traditional courses.
  • Students will be charged the Student Health Fee ($26/semester) and the Campus Center Fee ($20.50/semester).
  • Students can absolutely utilize the California College Promise Grant (CCPG) to waive the $46/unit fee, if they qualify through the CCPG Application, the FAFSA, or the CADAA.
  • We are currently working with the Department of Education for approval for students to utilize federal (Pell Grant, SEOG, loans) and state grants (Cal Grant); we are not sure that approval will be completed by Fall 2025.
  • We are working on unique scholarships for Shasta College CBE students.
  • CBE will be offered in a fully online format (with the exception of one ECE competency that requires a student to work/volunteer in-person at a qualifying early childhood education setting).
  • Access to a laptop or other device and the internet will be critical to your success in the program.
  • If you do not have a laptop, the Shasta College Library has a Chromebook lending program. 
  • Our first pathway in CBE will start in Fall 2025 (August) and be the 24-unit Early Childhood Education (ECE) Certificate.  Our first group of CBE students will be focused on students already working in an ECE setting who need to complete more units to advance in their field.  
  • In general, we expect CBE students will be able to start in mid-August, mid-October, mid-January, mid-March, or the start of June.
  • Our first group of CBE students for Fall 2025 will be focused on people already employed by an early childhood education setting.
  • Follow the steps outlined on “How to Become a CBE Student”