Student Information

Get involved as a student

Are you looking to get field experience as an early childhood education major? Just want to volunteer? Or looking for employment (while learning along the way)?

If you're passionate about working with infants to five-year-olds, the NAEYC-accredited Child Development Center gives you a great environment in which to learn and work.

And parents can rest assured, all students who volunteer, work or participate in a field experience meet necessary requirements and background checks and training prior to joining us.

Build Your Resume.

Each semester, UNI students have the opportunity to become a part of our teaching staff. As a staff member, you are an essential part of our teaching team at the center, helping provide the best possible care for children in our classrooms. Although most of our student staff is taking classes in early childhood education or related fields, we welcome applicants from all paths of study.

We’re looking for students who are:

passionate about working with kids
interested in playing an active role in a child's learning and growth
looking to get more involved at UNI and give back to our community

Impact a Child's Life.

We welcome visitors, observers and participants from all paths of study to help out in the CDC as a volunteer. While most students who choose to volunteer here are taking classes in early childhood education or related fields, we welcome and have had students from all fields of study become volunteers.

Make a positive impact on the life of a child
Serve others in an area you're passionate about
Give back to your community

Gain Experience in Your Field.

If you’re in the early childhood education space or related academic fields, you may be looking to gain some relevant field experience for your major. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Every semester we host student volunteers in our classroom for a variety of purposes and we love to make it easy to get the field experience students need for their classes.

We help dozens of practicum students each semester earn the field experience hours they need to complete their degree.

Employment

Build Your Resume.

We’re looking for students who are:

passionate about working with kids
interested in playing an active role in a child's learning and growth
looking to get more involved at UNI and give back to our community

Volunteering

Impact a Child's Life.

Make a positive impact on the life of a child
Serve others in an area you're passionate about
Give back to your community

Field Experience

Gain Experience in Your Field.

We help dozens of practicum students each semester earn the field experience hours they need to complete their degree.

Employment Questions

How can I become employed?

First things first, you must fill out and submit a student employee application. If no student staff opportunities are available when you apply, the CDC will hold on to your application and you will be put on a waitlist until a spot opens up. If we determine that you are a good fit for the job and we hire you, you will be required to complete:

CPR and First Aid training
Essentials Training
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training
Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse training
A Physical Examination
A background check with fingerprinting

New employees should also become familiar with our employee handbook which will be your guide as you begin your new job. The handbook contains valuable information that you can and should reference often throughout your employment.

What's expected of me as a student employee?

As a student employee of the Child Development Center, you are expected to be actively involved in the care and supervision of the children. Every member of our staff must be devoted to providing the best care possible by creating an environment where children will flourish. As we’ve mentioned above, we expect our student staff to be passionate about working with kids and commit themselves to the mission of our program.

How can I apply?

To apply as a student staff member at the CDC, you must fill out the form below. If offered the position, you must also complete all paperwork required by the CDC prior to beginning your employment. You can also apply through UNI’s Handshake student job board for any positions posted there.

Student Employment Application

What do I need to know about being an employee of the university?

For general information regarding UNI’s student employees, visit careerservices.uni.edu.

Volunteering Questions

How can I start volunteering?

To get involved with the CDC in this capacity, contact Director Maria Ackerson at maria-ackerson@uni.edu. She will tell you about the opportunities that may be available and guide you through the process.

What requirements are there to becoming a volunteer?

Field Experience Questions

How can I get field experience through the CDC?

To get involved with the CDC in this capacity, contact our director Allison Pattee at allison.pattee@uni.edu. She will tell you about the opportunities that may be available and guide you through the process to becoming a volunteer.

What requirements are there to getting involved at the CDC for field experience?

We care about who we let into our classrooms. Therefore want to make sure that all of our volunteers are fully equipped to help our kiddos before they even step into one of our classrooms. We require that all volunteers fill out a volunteer statement form, confidentiality agreement and a mandatory reporting form. As an additional requirement, if you’re using this as field experience, you must complete a background check and fingerprinting before entering the classroom.