Section 2751.20  Applicant Eligibility

A qualified applicant shall:

a)         be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen or meet the undocumented student criteria of the RISE Act;

b)         be a member of the incumbent workforce, currently working or having worked in the early childhood field in a licensed or license-exempt facility that serves children from birth to age 5;

c)         be enrolled or accepted for enrollment, on a full- or part-time basis (at least 3 credit hours), at the undergraduate level at a public or non-profit private 2- or 4-year Gateways-entitled and Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity member institution;

d)         be pursuing at least one of the following:

1)         an Associate of Applied Science degree (or related certificate) in early childhood education or an associate degree with a concentration in early childhood education;

2)         a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, with or without a Professional Educator License; and

e)         be maintaining satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution.