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COOPERATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM
Standards and Guidelines
Definition of Cooperative Work Experience
A cooperative work experience is on-or off-campus paid
employment. It augments formal classroom instruction.
The experience is coordinated by a technical faculty
member related to the major and by a member
of the Cooperative Education office.
Requirements
- A student must have a minimum cumulative 2.0
grade point average and a 2.0 grade point average
in the technical are to participate in a cooperative
work experience.
- A student must have successfully completed at
least 30 credit hours, 12 of which must be in the
student's major area of study, and approval of a
technical faculty member to participate in a
cooperative work experience.
- Students already working may apply to use that
experience to meet cooperative work experience
requirements.
- Each student who is enrolled in a cooperative work
experience must have successfully completed a
prerequisite one credit-hour on-campus seminar.
This can be taken as a co-requisite upon approval
of the technical faculty member.
- At a minimum, each student is required to meet with
the assigned technical faculty member at the beginning
of the term, at the mid-term, and at the end of the term
to discuss and evaluate progress in the cooperative
work experience.
- Each student who is enrolled in a cooperative work
experience must document learning outcomes to be
achieved through the cooperative work experience,
and submit these to the technical faculty member for
approval by the end of the second week of the term.
- Each student who desires to participate in a cooperative
work experience must contact the Cooperative Education
office to receive or record a job placement assignment.
- Students who desire to participate in a cooperative
work experience must be enrolled in a cooperative
education course In their major in order to receive
academic credit for the work experience.
Awarding of Credit
One credit shall be awarded for a minimum of one hundred
clock hours of cooperative work experience that is scheduled
during a quarter. A maximum of thirteen quarter credit hours
may be earned in cooperative work experience, or any
combination of cooperative work experience and practicum,
over the associate degree program.
Evaluation
The technical faculty member visits the job site for a conference
with the student and supervisor at the mid-term and for a final
evaluation. Additional visits may occur. The technical faculty
member will evaluate the student based upon pre-approved
learning outcomes to be determined between the student and
the technical faculty member. The technical faculty member
assigns the course grade to the student after appropriate
consultation with the supervisor/employer. Students
participating in cooperative experiences will be graded on
pass/fail basis.
On-Campus Seminar
Students desiring to participate in a cooperative work
experience will enroll in a prerequisite one-credit on-campus
seminar. The seminar will meet for ten classroom hours during
the quarter. The seminar's curriculum will encompass the
following topics:
- Developing a resume
- Developing learning outcomes for a cooperative
work experience
- Expectations of students participating in cooperative
work experiences
- Workplace ethics
- Interviewing tips and techniques
- Development of a portfolio for presentation to
potential employers
Discussions with previous cooperative work
experience participants regarding what to expect
Field Experience
Field experience is planned, paid work activity which
relates to an individual student's occupational objectives.
With permission of a faculty advisor, the field experience
replaces elective or required courses in a student's
associate degree program. The experience is coordinated
by a faculty member of the college who assists the
student in planning the experience, visits the site of the
experience for a conference with the student and his/her
supervisor at least once during the quarter or semester
and assigns the course grade to the student after
appropriate consultation with the employer/supervisor.
One credit (quarter or semester) shall be awarded for a
minimum of twelve clock hours of field experience which is
scheduled during a week. A maximum of thirteen quarter
(or nine semester) credit hours may be earned in field
experience, or in any combination of field experience,
cooperative education experience and practicum
over the associate degree program.
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