1.3. Department of Cooperative Education

The co-operative education learning model encompasses Preparation, Activity (co-op job), and Reflection (evaluation of the experience).
 

Student Preparation and Clearance for Co-op

Each student must fulfill a series of requirements in order to be authorized to go out on co-op for a given quarter. All students are required to register for co-op through the Registrar’s Office. In addition, each program will be able to set up a template on the system of the requirements that their students must meet in order to be cleared for co-op, including the program’s unique orientation requirements. Additional preparation and clearance activities vary by coordinator, but generally include:

• Students must "check in" with their assigned coordinator on a quarterly basis. The coordinator captures/updates information about the student - such as whether or not they have a car, when they are available for work, etc.
• Freshmen and transfer students must successfully complete orientation to be eligible for co-op. The exact form of orientation varies by coordinator.
• Returning students fulfill the Reflection requirements, which include attendance at a Reflection seminar (either one-on-one or group session), completion of a performance evaluation (the student/employer form), and completion of the written reflection narrative.
• Students submit an updated, approved resume. These resumes are stored on the system, where they are available to send out to employers via e-mail or fax. Information extracted from the resumes is used in job matching.

Data collected from the students - "status" information fields - will also be accessible to help coordinators track their students.

Students who have not received clearance by their coordinator will not be able to access the job listings for the quarter.

Job Listings

All co-op job listings will be stored in the central Division of Co-op job listings, along with information such as which coordinator(s) is the contact for the job and the eligibility requirements that apply to the job. Eligibility restrictions might include employer-designated criteria such as major, level (sophomore, etc.), visa status, and qpa. The system will allow restrictions to be added or removed at any time; for example, at some point in the quarter it might be desirable to lift certain restrictions and make a job open to more students. Job descriptions will be available to authorized students through secured Web access. The off-campus access will block the company name and street address to prevent students from bypassing the legitimate referral process.

Job Assignment

1. Authorized students will be able to view all the job listings or search the listings for particular criteria, either remotely or at the co-op office. Only students "cleared for co-op" for the quarter will be considered authorized. It is envisioned that additional PCs for student use could be placed in central locations where the job listing books are currently located. Once job listings have been entered in the job bank, it would also be possible to print out paper copies.
2. Students will be able to express interest ("sign up") by designating their selections online. Where required, students will set priorities within their selections. Note: Some programs may not allow their students to "sign up" online. Instead, coordinators may enter the job selections or assignments and skip steps 3-5 in this process.
3. Students will be able to view all jobs but will only be allowed to select jobs for which they meet the eligibility criteria.
4. If an eligible student selects a job for which the contact is a coordinator who is not the student’s assigned coordinator, then the system will respond with a message providing instructions on how to proceed next. The coordinator who manages the job will determine the instructions. It is likely that the frequency of student requests for referrals will rise when students can view all of the co-op job listings. The system will track internal referral requests and assignments.
5. Each coordinator will be able to access a list of all the students who have selected any jobs that he/she manages. The list will include the coordinator’s assigned students, as well as students requesting an internal referral for a specific job. The coordinator will review and approve each job selection. If desired by the coordinator, the system will generate an e-mail message to each student on the list. Each coordinator could customize the standard e-mail message text. Where required by the employer, the coordinator may rank ordinate the students.
6. For all job selections that have been approved by the coordinator, the system will check to see how the company wants to receive resumes (fax, e-mail attachment, Web). The system will automatically send the resumes out from the student resume bank along with a customized cover page. Companies who use the Internet frequently may prefer to view their applicants’ resumes via the Web. This access will require security (a PIN) and will allow only viewing approved resumes, not searching the student resume bank.
7. Once a student is selected for an interview, either the student or the coordinator will fill out an online request for a co-op referral letter. This could be done over the Web or in-person. The system will generate the referral letters for coordinator review.
8. Students will generally be expected to come to their coordinator’s office for the referral letters. The reason for this is that it is important for the coordinator to have ongoing contact with the student. However, the system will also provide the ability for a coordinator to instead send the referral letters out by fax or email to both the student and employer.
9. When the coordinator is informed that the student has been accepted for a job, the coordinator will update the assignment information on the system, including salary.

Students who wish to take part in an experiential learning activity, such as community service, and students who develop their own jobs are required to petition their coordinators for approval to use this activity as their co-op assignment. The petitions will be available online, and the completed forms will be stored with the student record. The coordinator will update the system with the assignment information.

Information about sign-up and referrals will be kept up to 4 quarters on the student record. Actual assignment history will be kept "forever".

Job Tracking

Any site visits by the coordinator to the employer will be tracked by the system. Problems that arise during the assignment may be noted in confidential comment fields on the database.

Job Evaluation/Reflection

There are three documented components included in the evaluation of the assignment:

1. The student/employer evaluation form that constitutes the official evaluation of the co-op experience.
1. A description (questionnaire) of the job from the student’s perspective which is made available to other students.
1. A reflection narrative - the student’s perspective and thoughtful review of the co-op experience. This may be optional; requirements vary by coordinator.

These job evaluation components will be consolidated into a conceptual "3-part form" on the Web. Colors and careful description will be used to clearly distinguish the components. The process will work as follows:

• The student will provide information that applies to all 3 parts in a common header section of the form.
• The student will complete his part of the student/employer evaluation, which will then be handed to the employer or forwarded via e-mail or fax.
• The student will complete the part of the evaluation intended to provide information for other students, which will then be stored on the database.
• The student will complete a written reflection narrative, which will then be stored on the database for coordinator viewing.

Hard copy evaluation forms will also be available; information will be entered in the system by staff.

Successful completion of a co-op assignment results in a grade of "satisfactory".

Work Study administration

The Co-op Department receives an annual allocation of work-study funds through the university’s Financial Aid Office. The funds are divided among coordinators, predominately those with student majors centered mostly on non-profit organizations. To be eligible for a university funded work-study co-op position, an employer must be an active agency with a contract on file at the Financial Aid Office. Eligible students are coded by the Financial Aid Office with a maximum quarterly amount they can earn. Once a student accepts a job, he/she fills out authorization paperwork at the Financial Aid Office. The student receives his/her payroll check from the University. Co-op is responsible for a quarterly audit of funds allocated and spent.

Centralized Data Entry Considerations

Some areas where the Division should consider offering centralized data entry services have been described earlier in this document (Refer to Shared Activities within the Division). In addition to those areas, the volumes associated with the following Co-op activities make these worth considering also:

• Job assignment information
• Job evaluations that are submitted in hard copy
• Job tracking activities, such as site visits

The detailed Software Requirements Specifiation can be found HERE.

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