A two-time graduate of NIU returned to campus Monday to assume the duties of director of the Campus Child Care Center.

Christine Herrmann, who holds a bachelor of science in child development from NIU in 1982 and a master of science in child and family studies from NIU in 1985, takes charge of a program which has an enrollment of almost 100 children ranging from one- to six-years old. She takes the reins from Shirley Kubetz who left NIU to take a teaching position at the College of DuPage.

The Campus Child Care Center, which is located in Gabel Hall, has been in existence for about 10 years. The center cares for the children of faculty, staff and students, with priority given to students.

“We are chartered and partially funded by the Student Association,” Herrmann said. “Consequently, we are mandated to give students’ children the first place on the waiting list.” Herrmann said about 80 percent of the children enrolled at the center are children of students.

All children at the center can enroll on either a part-time or a full-time basis. Full-time is defined as six hours or more per day, five days a week. Full-time enrollment is $70.50 per week for students and $79.50 per week for faculty and staff. Part-time enrollment is $2 per hour for students, $2.40 per hour for faculty and staff.

“We try to keep our fees comparable to what is charged by other daycare centers in the DeKalb area,” Herrmann explained. “If you were trying to get daycare services in Chicago or its suburbs for our price you’d have a hard time finding it.”

Herrmann said she accepted the post because she was familiar with the program and because “being affiliated with a university can be a big asset for a child care program.” Herrmann pointed to the ease of recruiting teachers and teachers’ aides as a plus of the program.

“We have 40 students working with us this semester,” Herrmann said. “Some of them are interns in the child development department, others are on a work-study plan. We also have some students who are volunteers.”

Herrmann does not plan to make many changes in the current child care program. “The toddler program for 12- to 24-month-old children is new for this year. Other than that, I don’t see us expanding or adding any new programs in the near future. We simply don’t have the space,” she said.

Herrmann, a mother of a six_year_old daughter and a four_month_old son who use child care services, said the parents of the children in NIU’s program seem to be “very pleased with the program that we now offer.”

She added, “The convenience of an ‘on-site’ child care program is very attractive to parents. When they come to school, they simply bring their children with them.”

errmann added that an on-campus program makes it easy for parents to stop in and visit with their child or the child’s teacher. “Some parents even eat lunch with their child occasionally, ” she said.

“All in all, we think the child care program here at NIU offers a very positive experience for both parents and children,” Herrmann said.