Reviewed/Updated October 2024
Non-credit based coursework is defined as any coursework that does not result in college credits or a letter grade and is therefore not included on a college transcript from an accredited institution of higher education. This includes community-based training hours as well as non-credit bearing continuing education units (CEUs). Non- credit bearing childcare training hours are the most common type of coursework completed by Registry members to meet annual training requirements for Licensing.
The Nevada Registry accepts photocopied Certificates of Completion for non-credit based coursework (in- service/community-based childcare training hours or CEUs). Certificates must include the participant’s name (matching the name on file), title of the training (matching the Registry-approved title), date of the training, name of trainer, number of training hours earned or CEUs completed and the Registry-issued approval code*. Certificates without required information will not be added to the member’s account.
* Training included in the “Professional Development Acceptance Guidelines: Automatically Accepted Organizations, Courses and Training for ECE Professionals in Nevada” document of The Nevada Registry will be added without a Registry approval code when all other acceptance criteria are met.
Registry-Approved Training
The Nevada Registry is responsible for the approval of all non-credit bearing community-based training offered in Nevada (i.e., childcare training hours). All approved training is classified by Core Knowledge Area (CKA) at the time of approval and entered into the ‘Training Taken’ section of a member’s file as part of the data entry process. Registry-approved training that has been submitted through the membership application/renewal process is captured within the Training Documentation section of each member’s Online Portal and is broken down by CKA.
The Nevada Registry’s attendance tracking feature (launched in March 2020) allows trainers to submit attendance at Registry-approved training sessions electronically via their Online Portal or the Trainer Attendance Mobile App for verification by Registry staff. Once verified, completed Registry-approved training is added to the membership accounts of active Registry members within five days of attending an in-person or virtual training session. Commonly referred to as “real time” data tracking, this is a significant benefit to educators working in Early Childhood programs who now have a more accurate and up-to-date record of their completed professional development. In 2024 a Trainer Attendance Mobile App was launched allowing trainers another way to submit attendance using uniquely generated QR codes, name/email address combination or by entering an attendee’s ID number. If a member submits copies of training certificates for training sessions already on file in their account because of the training attendance verification process, the document is saved to their account but is not entered into their ‘Training Taken’ section a second time. Members receive an email verification each time their attendance at a Registry-approved training session has been verified and added to their account. Individuals who attend Registry-approved training that are not, yet members receive an email notifying them that the training will be added to their account upon application to The Nevada Registry (if using the same email address provided during training to create their membership account).
Online courses completed through approved online training organizations who have entered a data sharing partnership with The Nevada Registry are also imported into the accounts of active Registry members on a weekly basis via a secure file transfer process (when there is an email match). As with in-person and virtual Registry-approved training sessions, if members submit copies of training certificates for courses already on file in their account because of the data import process, the document is saved to their account but is not entered into their ‘Training Taken’ section a second time. Members receive an email verification each time an online course is completed and added to their account.
Licensing-Approved Training
All training completed prior to October 2004 is considered “Licensing-Approved” and is classified as ‘Previous Training’ under the ‘Auto-Accept’ section of a member’s file and is combined with Registry-approved training listed under the ‘Training Taken’ section of a member’s file. This training is not classified by Core Knowledge Area, nor is it itemized in the database or in the ‘Training Documentation’ section of a member’s Online Portal.
Non-Credit Bearing ECE-Related Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
CEUs granted by the Department of Education, or an accredited institution of higher education are converted to training hours at a rate of one CEU = 15 training hours. CEUs granted by an agency other than the DOE or accredited institution of higher education are converted to childcare training hours at a rate of 1 CEU = 10 training hours unless otherwise listed on the training certificate. All hours are entered/added to the ‘Auto- Accept’ section of a member’s file as ‘Other Recognized Auto-Accepted Training’. This training is classified under the ‘Leadership and Professional Development’ Core Knowledge Area and is listed in the ‘Training Documentation’ section of a member’s Online Portal.
Out of State ECE-Related Training/Exempt
ECE training completed out of state while living out of state is exempt from Registry approval. However, Registry-approved training completed in another state is entered/added to the ‘Auto-Accept’ section of a member’s file as ‘Registry-Approved Training from Another State’. This training is classified under the ‘Leadership and Professional Development’ Core Knowledge Area and is listed in the ‘Training Documentation’ section of a member’s Online Portal. Training completed out-of-state that is not Registry-approved is entered/added to the total in the ‘Previous Training’ field of the ‘Auto-Accept’ section of a member’s file. This training is not classified by Core Knowledge Area, nor is it itemized in the database or in the ‘Training Documentation’ section of a member’s Online Portal.
Automatically Accepted Out of State ECE-Related Training
Out of state training that has been provided by nationally recognized organizations (and that is listed in the “Professional Development Acceptance Guidelines: Automatically Accepted Organizations, Courses and Training for ECE Professionals in Nevada” document of The Nevada Registry) is selected from a dropdown menu and entered individually in the database under the ‘Auto-Accept’ section of a member’s file and is combined with Registry-approved training listed under the ‘Training Taken’ section of a member’s file. All CPR and First Aid training is classified under the ‘Health, Safety, and Nutrition’ Core Knowledge Area. All other automatically recognized/accepted training is classified under the ‘Leadership and Professional Development’ Core Knowledge Area. All training added to the ‘Auto-Accept’ section is listed in the ‘Training Documentation’ section of a member’s Online Portal.
Unapproved Training
Any training that has not been otherwise approved by The Nevada Registry, including out of state training completed by Nevada residents, is considered “unapproved” and is not entered/added to the total in the ‘Previous Training’ field of the ‘Auto Accept’ section of a member’s file.
Miscellaneous Verification Policies
- There currently is no formal way to articulate informal training hours into formal education. Therefore, The Nevada Registry will count education/training as college credit only when college courses have been taken/completed at an accredited institution of higher education (community college or university), appear on a college transcript, and when a grade of C or better has been awarded.
- The Nevada Registry DOES NOT verify individuals have satisfied their annual training requirements for Licensing. Verification of completion of annual childcare training hours continues to remain a function of Child Care Licensing.
- College level early childhood courses automatically count towards the annual training requirements and DO NOT need to go through The Nevada Registry’s training approval process. Individuals are always encouraged to contact their Child Care Licensing Surveyor if they are unsure about whether a course will count/be accepted to meet training requirements.
- One college credit = 15 childcare training hours.
- If an individual has been a licensed Family Child Care Provider but has not kept copies of training certificates, the individual can request a letter of verification from their Licensing Surveyor verifying the number of years they were licensed as well as the minimum number of training hours they would have had to complete on an annual basis. The total hours will be entered/added to the total in the ‘Previous Training’ field of the ‘Auto Accept’ section of a member’s file. This training is not classified by Core Knowledge Area, nor is it itemized in the database or in the ‘Training Documentation’ section of a member’s Online Portal.
- The Nevada Registry is not able to issue replacement certificates or verify attendance even when an individual has been added to a digital attendance record. ‘The Professional Development Profile/Transcript’ located withing a member’s account provides a record of training an individual has on file with The Nevada Registry. This does not mean The Nevada Registry has copies of training certificates, but instead indicates courses and/or training sessions which have been verified by either the trainer or training entity and added to a member’s account. Individuals requesting verification of attendance may access their training transcript or are referred to the trainer or training entity who can verify attendance and issue a replacement certificate if applicable.
- Diplomas earned from Career Institutes (Stratford Career Institute, Hartcourt, etc.) are not equivalent to degrees/college credits awarded by regionally accredited universities/colleges. Coursework consists of classes/modules that take between six months and two years to complete; college credits are not granted. Sixteen childcare training hours will be granted and applied toward overall training accumulated.
- The Nevada Registry, in partnership with Child Care Licensing, has created a list of commonly attended out of state and national training ECE educators can attend and receive childcare training hours without a Registry-issued approval code or letter. The “Professional Development Acceptance Guidelines: Automatically Accepted Organizations, Courses and Training for ECE Professionals in Nevada” document can be accessed on the ‘Training Calendar’ page of The Nevada Registry website. To receive credit for attendance, individuals must obtain a certificate of completion from the sponsoring agency and present it to their licensing surveyor in conjunction with their center’s monitoring visit(s). In no way does this list supersede the existing training approval process for what is deemed “traditional” childcare training in Nevada (i.e., workshops and training being offered in-state). Most training individuals take remains subject to the training approval process.
Unverified Data
The Nevada Registry electronically archives copies of unverified data in member files but data that cannot be verified is not entered into the database/factored into Career Ladder placement.