Child Development Associate® Credential

Oakton College’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) program awards up to 6-credit hours of Early Childhood Education (ECE) course work for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential that can be applied completely to the ECE Associate of Applied Science Degree (AAS) or partially (3-credit hours) to any of the ECE Certificates.

Steps to Receive ECE College Credit

To receive ECE college credit for your active CDA credential, please follow these steps:

  1. Apply to Oakton and gain admission
    1. Select one of the ECE credentials (ECE AAS degree or one of the ECE Certificates) as your program of study.
  2. After you have successfully been admitted to Oakton, register for ECE classes that align with your chosen ECE Degree or Certificate.
  3. Complete and submit the Credit for Prior Learning Request for Prior Learning Assessment/Training (Requires Oakton Login) in order to list CDA credit on your transcript. In this section of the application titled Oakton Course Prefix, Number and Title, please list:
    1. ECE104 - Introduction to Early Childhood - for CDA credit - 3 credit hours
    2. ECE290 - Special Topics in ECE - for CDA credit - 3 credit hours
  4. With the completed Credit for Prior Learning Request, include a copy of your official CDA credential (must list your name, CDA Number and display active credential [must not be expired]).
  5. Submit the Credit for Prior Learning form.