Early Learning & Child Care Diploma at Portage College in Lac La Biche, Canada is a diploma in Early Childhood Education programme. The programme is delivered fully online. Tuition for international students is CAD 15,606 per year (CAD 4,620 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Early Childhood Education
Delivery: Online
Local tuition: CAD 4,620 / year
International tuition: CAD 15,606 / year
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This diploma builds on the Early Learning and Child Care Certificate to prepare practitioners for supervisory roles in early-learning settings. It is delivered fully online with live, instructor-led evening classes twice a week, and offers five start dates through the year so students can begin once they meet the prerequisites. The ten-course curriculum covers child development and exceptionalities, family sociology and guidance strategies, health, safety and nutrition, language development and early literacy, curriculum design, and basic daycare administration, along with two practicum placements that students arrange at licensed childcare settings of their choice. The program suits certificate-holders who want to move into leadership or supervisory positions in early childhood education. Admission requires completion of the Early Learning and Child Care Certificate from Portage College or another provincial college, along with a criminal record check with vulnerable-sector clearance. Graduates qualify for Level 3 Early Childhood Educator certification through the Alberta government.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission requires successful completion of the Early Learning and Child Care Certificate from Portage College or from another provincial college; Level 1, 2, or 3 early childhood educator certifications do not meet this prerequisite, and transcripts from private post-secondary institutions are not accepted for transfer credit. Applicants must complete a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Search before entry, and must pass ECDE100 Human Development before they are eligible for practicum placement. As the diploma is delivered fully online, students need a device meeting the college's published Moodle technical specifications. The programme page does not itself set an English-language test requirement; applicants who are not fluent in English fall under Portage College's general English Language Proficiency policy, which accepts IELTS Academic 6.0 with no band below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 79, PTE Academic 54, CAEL 60 with no component below 50, or Duolingo 105, or an approved study-history exemption.
Application Details
Start Date:October, January, March, May and August
Application Deadline:Portage College sets no single institution-wide application deadline for domestic applicants, who apply through ApplyAlberta and are generally admitted on a rolling basis until seats fill or the program starts; individual program pages carry their own dates, e.g. the Business Administration Diploma - Management and Hairstyling Certificate close August 15, 2027 and the Indigenous Arts Diploma closes June 1, 2027, all for programs beginning around August 2027, while the Practical Nurse Diploma and Primary Care Paramedic remain 'open until seats are filled.' International applicants apply directly to Portage College with a $160 fee; deadlines are published per program rather than institution-wide, for example the University Studies Diploma's international deadlines of October 15, 2026 for Winter and February 15, 2027 for Spring, and Primary Care Paramedic does not accept international applicants at all. Portage does not publish a single equal-consideration date for either group. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
