Five months after first opening its doors, NIU’s Campus Child Care Center already is catering to double the amount of children of its predecessor.

NIU first established a child care center in 1978. Located at Gabel Hall, the 1,800-square foot facility was able to hold up to 50 children at a time, but in May 1999, groundbreaking began for a new state-of-the-art center.

Located behind Gabel Hall on Annie Glidden Road, the new, $3.2 million facility sports over 16,000 square feet.

Director Christine Herrmann said she’s happy with the new location.

“The quality of the space is most important,” Herrmann said. “The brand new facility makes for a better environment for everyone.”

Seventy-five percent of the center’s business comes from students who need somewhere to leave their children. The rest is from NIU faculty and staff.

Double the amount of families now receive care at the center, and double the amount of workers intern there. Classrooms are taught by teachers with bachelor’s degrees in early childhood education, and each professional teacher is aided by an assistant with an associate’s degree in early childhood education.

Another plus is that the center no longer has to share a building with classrooms. When the service was at Gabel Hall, student traffic and a lack of security hindered the children’s experience, Herrmann said. But the new facility is equipped with safety-lock doors, receptionist sign-in sheets and a swipe-in machine for student workers.

“The best feature is that we are our own building,” Herrmann said. “You know whoever is in the building is in there because they need to be in the child care center for a specific reason.”

Rates for NIU child care vary depending on the child’s age and the amount of time to be spent at the facility. Students receive a 10-percent reduced rate over faculty and staff — or about $30.50 a day for infants and toddlers to $23.15 a day for school-aged children. Subsidized rates are offered through the state.

Herrmann said overall, children have benefited most from the space. Other new features that have came in handy are parent conference rooms, a private nursing room, storage space for toys, books, crafts and a large indoor play area equipped with items like a trampoline.

Herrmann is proud to know the center helps students get their degrees, and in the process, teaches life lessons to more than 100 children a week..

“This has been very successful so far,” Herrmann said. “It’s just what we needed.”