Childcare centers on campus deliver quality child care with flexible tuition rates to the children of Iowa State faculty, staff and students.

The ISU campus is home to three child care centers that prioritize enrollment to the children of ISU faculty, staff and students. The three child care centers are the Childhood Development Laboratory School, the ISU Childcare Center at Veterinary Medicine and the University Community Childcare.

“All three of our campus centers are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children,” said the WorkLife & Family Service Coordinator and CCAMPIS Program Director Cris Broshar. “[They are] the only three centers in Ames and Story County who have this designation.”

The first child care center on campus, the Child Development Laboratory School, opened as a nursery school in 1924 and operates out of the Palmer Building. With four classrooms, a children’s library, administrative offices, laundry and a kitchen, the Child Development Laboratory School offers observation and hands-on experience for students preparing to work as childhood teachers, administrators or child and family specialists. The school has three labs and six practicum courses for ISU students that cover infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

Forty-seven years after the Child Development Laboratory School opened, the University Community Childcare was established in 1971. Located on the north side of campus, the UCC provides care and education for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children. The UCC has 76 spaces for enrolled students across five programs.

The newest child care facility, the ISU Childcare Center at Veterinary Medicine was opened in 1997 at a brand new facility built by the university. Again with 76 enrollment spaces for children, the Childcare Center at Vet Med also has programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. The ISU Childcare Center at Vet Med is part of the Bright Horizons organization and adheres to their curriculum and standards; the center employs 14 full-time and 15 to 20 part-time employees.

“I’ve got a really strong staff,” said Angela Adams, the director of the ISU Childcare Center at Vet Med. “It’s not for the faint of heart by any means.”

With dedicated staff and limited enrollment spaces for children, the childcare centers on campus give priority enrollment to the children of ISU faculty, staff and students. To help parents pay for the tuition at the centers, ISU offers a Child Care Access Means Parents in School or CCAMPIS Program grant and/or the Childcare Assistance Program or CAP Scholarship to parents who apply and qualify for them.

“CCAMPIS recipients at ISU receive a monthly tuition subsidy of 75% at the campus child care center of their choice,” Broshar said. “More than 300 student parents and nearly 400 children have benefitted from the ISU CCAMPIS grant program since 2001.” 

The tuition for the childcare centers is assessed based on family household income as well. The childcare centers on campus offer quality care and education to children as part of their individual missions.

“There’s a lot of really bad childcare out there,” Adams said. “The university centers … are doing childcare at its best.”