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We recommend submitting an application as soon as the need for care arises.

• Infant Care & Expecting Families: For those seeking infant care, you are welcome to submit an application as soon as you confirm that you are expecting.

• Adoption Process: Families who are beginning the adoption process are also encouraged to apply as early in the process as possible.

Upon submitting your application, our Enrollment Team will ask you to confirm your preferred enrollment timeline from the options below:

• Immediate / Mid-Year Consideration: Select if your family would like to be considered if a spot opens up mid-year (between now and July 2027). If no space becomes available, applications in this category will automatically remain active for the primary spring enrollment period, when offers are extended for the upcoming program year.
• New Program Year Only: Select if your family would like to be considered exclusively for the start of the next program year, beginning in August 2027.

Note: Because enrollment offers are extended sequentially based on application timing, age group availability, and university affiliation priority, submitting your application promptly ensures your family receives the highest possible priority status when a space opens up. Selecting a preference does not guarantee placement or alter your application priority. It simply helps our team process applications efficiently and serve families as effectively as possible. 

Tours are available to families who have completed the application process.

Once your application has been processed, the Cyert Center Enrollment Team (Enrollment Team) will contact you to confirm your placement on the Applicant List, and provide the information needed to schedule a tour at either location.

At the Cyert Center, we operate on an annual model, with our program year running from the beginning of August through the end of July. 

While many childcare centers transition children individually as they reach age milestones, children at the Cyert Center move to new classrooms together as a cohort each August. This model fosters stable, continuous classroom communities for children throughout the year. Because our curriculum and classroom transitions align with this annual cycle, the vast majority of new families join our program with an August start date.

Offers for an upcoming program year are extended each spring once current family re-enrollment concludes.

Because overall space availability depends entirely on re-enrollment numbers, open spots for specific age groups cannot be predicted in advance. Once final vacancies are confirmed, the Enrollment Team begins extending offers to applicant families in accordance with the Cyert Center’s Application and Enrollment Policy.

Mid-year openings occur only if a currently enrolled family withdraws, making these vacancies largely unpredictable and infrequent. 

Upon submitting your application, our Enrollment Team will ask you to confirm whether you would like to be considered for immediate/mid-year openings if space becomes available, or if you prefer to wait strictly for enrollment at the start of an upcoming program year.

If you indicate interest in immediate/mid-year enrollment but a space does not open up, your application will automatically remain active for the primary spring enrollment period when offers are extended for an August start.

Indicating an enrollment preference does not guarantee placement or change your application status or priority. Rather, it enables our Enrollment Team to process applications efficiently and serve incoming families as effectively as possible.

A Note on Infant Care: Under our a limited number of mid-year start dates are set aside specifically for infants due after the start of an upcoming program year:

• January Start Dates: Offers for these mid-year spaces carry a January contract start date and are extended exclusively during our primary spring enrollment period.

• Availability: While you may request consideration for mid-year enrollment opportunities, please note that these January spaces are extremely limited and cannot be guaranteed.

If you are not ready to enroll when an offer is extended, you will be asked to confirm whether you would like to decline the offer and be removed from the applicant list, or defer your application to be considered at a later date.

Please note that families may defer enrollment once while still maintaining their original place on the applicant list. If an enrollment offer is made at a later date and you choose not to enroll a second time, your application will be removed from the applicant list. You will then need to submit a new application and application fee to be considered for future enrollment opportunities. This policy ensures that the applicant list remains accurate and that enrollment opportunities are offered fairly to families who are ready to accept a placement.

More information can be found on deferal/declination processes in the Cyert Center’s Application and Enrollment Policy.

Families who defer an initial offer retain their original place on the applicant list; however, a second offer can only be made if an appropriate space becomes available. Because availability varies, we cannot predict or guarantee when a second enrollment opportunity may arise, regardless of the reason for, or timing of, the initial deferral.

The Cyert Center operates as a single, unified program across two locations: one on campus (Morewood Avenue), and the other just two miles away in the Bakery Square area (Penn Avenue).

Though the settings differ, both locations share the same philosophy, curriculum, and food program offerings– ensuring a consistent, high-quality experience for all children and families.

Our Morewood Avenue location has six classrooms, and our Penn Avenue location has 13 classrooms. 

The Cyert Center maintains a single applicant list for both locations. With enrollment offers determined by space availability and your family’s position on the applicant list, an offer could be extended for either site.

Families are welcome to share their site preference with our Enrollment Team after they have completed the application process; however, we cannot guarantee placement at a specific location. 

Requests to transfer to another location may be submitted for consideration to the Enrollment Team at ccee-info@andrew.cmu.edu. If a transition is possible, approved changes take effect only at the beginning of the program year in August. 

While we make every effort to accommodate these requests, a site change depends entirely on available space and staffing. If a transition is possible, families are typically notified in early spring—during the enrollment period for the upcoming year—that their request has been granted.

At the Cyert Center, classrooms are organized by six primary age groups: Infants, Young Toddlers, Older Toddlers, Preschool, Prekindergarten, and Flex Prek/Kindergarten. Each child’s placement is determined by their age at the start of the program year, as shown in the chart below. 

At our Morewood Avenue location, there is one classroom for each age group. At our Penn Avenue location, there are multiple classrooms for each age group. For example, enrolling infants may be placed in Infant A, Infant B, or Infant C. 

Children remain in the same classroom for the full program year and transition to the next age group each August. Monthly tuition rates are determined by age group and stay the same throughout the program year.

No, children remain in their classroom until the annual transition each August. This practice helps maintain a consistent age range and group of peers, fostering familiarity and strong, trusting relationships for both children and families. The transition between classrooms happens at the start of each program year to ensure smooth, planned changes.

The Flex Prek/Kindergarten classroom at the Cyert Center is licensed by both the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education. Because of this dual licensing, the classroom functions partially as a state-licensed Kindergarten and includes curriculum elements aligned with Pennsylvania Kindergarten learning standards.

Our Prekindergarten classrooms also serve children ages 4–5 years old and provide rich, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that support each child’s growing independence, curiosity, and readiness for school. The Flex Prek/Kindergarten classroom builds on these foundations, offering a slightly more structured environment with increased focus on early literacy, mathematical thinking, and other skills that help ease the transition into elementary school.

Your child’s enrollment would not be impacted by a change in your university affiliation. Your signed Enrollment Agreement would remain valid through the remainder of the current program year, and your family would remain eligible for enrollment in subsequent years as well. However, leaving your position or graduating could impact your eligibility for any university-sponsored benefits or grants.

For questions specific to the Cyert Center Sliding Scale benefit or the Graduate Student Grant Pilot, please reach out to Family Care Initiatives at hrfamilycare@andrew.cmu.edu.

No, as tuition is tied to classroom placement, not to individual birthdays. Rates remain the same until the next program year begins.

Yes, a finite number of three-day and two-day spaces are available in the Young Toddler, Older Toddler, Preschool, Prekindergarten, and Flex Prek/Kindergarten classrooms. We do not offer half-day enrollment options.

While we do offer part-time enrollment, availability is limited. Due to classroom capacity constraints and scheduling requirements, we cannot guarantee that every request for part-time care can be accommodated.

Part-time spaces are not available in the Cyert Center infant classrooms primarily due to limited physical space and the need for dedicated cribs, which cannot be shared between children due to Pennsylvania Department of Human Services health and safety regulations. Licensing and regulatory requirements, such as strict capacity limits and sanitation protocols, further restrict flexibility in scheduling part-time infant care in our program.

Requests to adjust enrollment status may be submitted for consideration to the Enrollment Team at ccee-info@andrew.cmu.edu. If a transition is possible, approved changes take effect either at the beginning of the program year in August or in early January, when families return from winter break.

While we make every effort to accommodate these requests, an enrollment status change depends entirely on available space and staffing. Families experiencing a qualifying life event or family status change may be considered for an exception to this schedule.