Hilltop Child Development Center

Enrollment & Admissions

Hilltop’s primary mission is to provide convenient, high quality care and education for the children of University families. One of our primary goals is to help student parents complete their education at KU successfully. Children of University of Kansas students receive highest priority on our waiting lists. KU staff and faculty families receive the next highest priority because of the important role they play in making it possible for KU students to succeed in attaining their education and career goals. Children from non-KU affiliated families are accepted only if there are no KU affiliated families on the waiting list for the child’s age group.

Applications for admission to Hilltop are accepted for children 3 months and older. Classroom placement is according to child’s age on August 31st (except for Toddlers who must be at least one year old by August 1st) of the academic year in which enrolled.

Completed applications may be returned to Hilltop along with the application fee. You may bring them by the building or mail it to Hilltop at 1605 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence KS 66045. We are not able to process the applications until the application fee is received.

View our current enrollment openings!

Definition of KU Affiliated Families
For Hilltop enrollment purposes, undergraduate and graduate students must be enrolled for at least six credit hours and pay the required campus fee during fall and spring semesters. An exception will be made for graduate students taking a smaller number of dissertation hours. Enrollment solely in independent study courses that do not carry the campus fee do not quality for KU student status at Hilltop. Summer KU enrollment is not required in order to maintain student family status.

For Hilltop enrollment purposes, full and part time employees of the University, KU Medical Center and University affiliated corporations (Athletics, the Alumni Association, the Endowment Association, Student Housing, the Unions, Continuing Education, K.U.C.R., Hilltop, etc.) are considered to be University affiliated.

Changes in the KU student or staff/faculty status during the child’s enrollment period may affect the length of the child's enrollment. Preference in all categories is given to requests for year round, full-day, five days a week care in all classrooms except the AM preschool, the half-day After Kindergarten program and after school program. Requests from MWF/TR or half-day enrollment will be filled only if there is corresponding enrollment for the alternate time.
Filling vacancies
As vacancies occur, children are accepted in the following order according to the date of application.
  1. Children of Hilltop staff
  2. Siblings of KU affiliated children currently attending Hilltop
  3. Children of KU students
  4. Children of KU faculty & staff
  5. Non-KU affiliated children, as space allows after May 15th for fall enrollment.
Non-KU affiliated requests

Non-KU affiliated families may place their children on the non-affiliated waiting list by completing a non-KU affiliated application form and returning it to the Hilltop office. No application fee is required to place a child on this list. If a child on this waiting list is accepted for enrollment, an application fee equal to that charged to KU affiliated families will be charged. Children on this waiting list will be accepted for enrollment only if there are no KU affiliated children on the regular waiting list for the child's age group. Acceptances for fall enrollment will be made after May 15th only.

Children from non-KU affiliated families, enrolled in a toddler or two-year old classroom, will be enrolled for one academic year (August – July). Continued enrollment for the for the next year may be possible dependent upon availability of non-KU openings after May 15th of the enrollment period.

Children from non-KU affiliated families, enrolled in a preschool classroom (must turn 3 by August 31st of that year), may continue enrollment until their kindergarten year. Continued enrollment in the Kindergarten program may be possible dependent upon availability of non-KU openings after May 15th of the enrollment period.

Program Placement
Children are placed in classrooms and stay in the same room for both fall and spring semesters. Most children also stay in the same room for the summer session. All children in the center change to the next age group at the beginning of each fall semester. Individual mid-year openings are filled as they occur. Program placement throughout the year for all children except toddlers is based on the age of the child as of August 31st of the current school year.

Toddlers must be twelve months old by August 1st and must meet the following conditions: no longer need a bottle during the day, no longer require a morning nap, be walking independently, and be able to eat independently.

Kindergartners must be five on or before August 31st. Hilltop's program is a full day program including extended hours in the same classroom.

All children enrolled in Hilltop’s preschool wing must be toilet trained as no changing facilities are available in these rooms. Children in the toddler wing do not need to be toilet trained.
Application Fee and Deposit

A non-refundable application fee of $15 is required to place a child on the KU affiliated waiting list. A $350 refundable deposit is required before a child is admitted to Hilltop. Once the child is in attendance, the deposit is carried forward each semester until the child is withdrawn from the center.

What are my chances of getting in?
Although we would like to be able to serve each family who has an interest in Hilltop, our space limitations don’t allow us to do that. Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to tell you in advance "what your chances are". It depends on the number of currently enrolled children who will continue throughout the year. It depends upon the age of your child and also the number of children on the waiting list ahead of you. It depends upon whether you are a KU affiliated family. The waiting list is "first come, first served" with KU student families having priority, then faculty/staff and finally community families. We will be happy to have you check in with us and we can let you know how the list is looking for your child.
Time line for acceptance of new children
Any time a child leaves Hilltop, we will immediately seek a new child to enter Hilltop. This can occur at any time throughout the year. Most openings occur at the beginning of our school year which runs August through July. We also frequently have spaces which begin in the summer session and then continue into the new year. Every fall we take 30 new toddlers and all of our children move up to the next age group at that time. We re-enroll our current children during March and begin calling new families in April for summer or fall openings. We open unused spaces for fall to non-KU affiliated families on May 15th.
If I don’t get into Hilltop what other care is available?
It is always helpful to put your child on several waiting lists as early education and care programs are often difficult to find. The statewide agency which is charged with helping families explore child care options is ERC Childcare Referral(www.ercrefer.org; 877-678-2548). This agency will assist families within the 785 area code in finding child care in their community. ERC is also available to help families select a program to specifically fit their needs.

Child Care Aware, a non-profit initiative for parents, has an excellent web site at www.chilcareaware.org. It has information such as "5 Steps to Choosing Quality Care", "Checklists for Evaluating a Child Care Provider", and a discussion of the variety of types of early education and care.

The Edna Hill Child Development Center is the only other child care facility on the KU campus. The two classrooms in this center are Sunnyside (864-0720) for infants and toddlers and Educare (864-3498) for preschoolers. They are located in the Dole and Haworth buildings.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children, the national agency which accredits early education programs has listings of those centers which have achieved their accreditation. You may search for these centers at www.naeyc.org/accreditation/search NAEYC also has suggestions about selecting quality programs. Their brochure, Choosing a Good Early Childhood Program: Questions and Answers, is usually available at DCCDA, the child care resource and referral agency.
Non-Discrimination Statement
Hilltop Child Development Center admits children of any race, color, religion, national origin, or sex and qualified handicapped children to all rights, privileges, programs and activities of the Center and does not discriminate on the basis of any of these factors in the administration of its educational policies, fee payments, food service programs and other school administered programs.

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 W. Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS, 66045, (785)864-6414, 711 TTY.