Cooperative Education

Cincinnati State

Cincinnati State was founded on the principle that education occurs best when

classroom instruction is reinforced by related work

experience acquired through Cooperative Education.

CooperativeEducation

Integration of classroom learning with practical work experience…

Who Benefits?

Students

Employers

Cincinnati State

Students

• Enhances students marketability by providing valuable degree-related work experience to add to resume.

• Enables students to earn money to help defray college expenses.

• Develops professional competence and business skills.• Helps students gain exposure to the job market.• Make contacts in profession for future job searches.• Get job offers for permanent positions upon graduation.• Helps develop long range career goals and clarification

of career goals.• Provides academic credit toward graduation.

Employers

• Increases cost-effectiveness of recruitment and training.

• Provides an opportunity to evaluate employees prior to a decision regarding full-time employment.

• Allows flexibility in staffing needs.• Brings state-of-the-art technical knowledge to the

workplace.• Fosters relationships with the academic community.

Cincinnati State

• Provides recognition in the community.• Serves as a recruitment tool for new students.• Increases retention of current students.• Fosters relationships with the business community.• Keeps curriculums relevant to the workplace.• Helps to develop scholarship opportunities from local

businesses.• Maintains our national exposure and reputation, thus

attracting quality faculty, staff and administrators.

General Overview of Co-op

• Mandatory• Academic Credit Awarded and Graded• 15 week work experience in the students academic field• It can be

• Part-time (Between 20 – 31 hours per week)

• Full-time – Back to Back Semesters (32 hours per week or more)

• Full-time Alternating• It must be

• Paid• Supervised • Evaluated

How Does Co-op Work?

The Process – Cincinnati State Side

• Student Recruitment/Orientation• Faculty Participation• Job Development• Employer Relations• Interview Process• Placement• Monitoring and Supervision• On-Site Visits• Reports and Evaluations• Assignment Completion/Credit Granted

BT 9200 - Professional Practices

Career Exploration Resume Writing Business Etiquette Professional Presence Interviewing PlacePro Basics Business Ethics

General Information

• Co-op at Cincinnati State is a 15 week semester work experience in the students academic field.

• It can be• Part-time (Between 20 – 31 hours per week)

• Full-time – Back to Back Semesters (32 hours per week or more)

• Full-time Alternating• It must be

• Paid• Supervised• Evaluated

Co-op Process

The Employer Side

What Positions Qualify?

• The student will be paid for work performed.• The job relates to a curriculum or career choice

of students.• The employer will supervise the student at work

and evaluate the performance.• A faculty member may visit the student and

supervisor on the job.• The possibility exists for student growth on the

job, coinciding with advanced coursework.

A position may qualify for co-op if:

Employer Process

• Analyze company needs for working with a co-op program– Recruitment pipeline– Temporary employment– Community Good

Recruitment Pipeline

• Consider this as part of your long term hiring process or On-boarding process.

• Ideas to consider– Build a sequence of work assignments that build

skill sets or experience your company needs– Consider options that will allow the co-op student

to spend long periods of time with your organization

– Think about learning goals or objectives your company would like this new employee to have

Temporary Employment

• Keep this in mind when you are looking for semi-skilled individuals and your company needs skill for a set period of time.

• Ideas to consider– Be specific in task your company needs

accomplished– What are your specific period of times needed

Elements of Success

• Commitment• Integration• Coordination • Budget• Salary• Relationships• Teamwork• Supervision

Some Key Factors – They Are Your Employee

• Provide clear job/project description• Orient student to the organization and culture• Create learning agreements

– Ensure they don’t have idle time– Design progressive work assignments– Avoid relegating co-op to tasks no one else wants to do

• Monitor student progress– Meet frequently with the co-op student

• Evaluate progress• Deal with problems or issues that arise

– Include Cincinnati State’s Co-op Coordinator

Steps to Connect

• Define your position• Determine work arrangement

– Fulltime – typically 32-40 hours/week• Alternating semesters vs. Back-to-Back

– Part-time – 20-31 hours/week• Parallel – go to school and work

• Work with Cincinnati State Co-op Coordinator to Recruit and Review Resumes– Determine the interview process

• Notify Coordinator upon hiring a co-op

Timing

The chart below provides a brief timeline for the Co-op program.

Student Start Date When to Contact Us Interview Period

January / Spring October November

May / Summer February March

August / Fall June July

**Specific dates vary each semester/year and can be provided to you by request.

How Students Participate

Student eligibility requirements differ with each program however most programs, student must:– Must be fully admitted to a program or

major– Complete pre-requisites for eligibility to co-

op– Most require “C” or better GPA over

specific coursework prior to participation– Attend Co-op Orientation

After Co-op Orientation

Students will meet with Co-op Coordinators to • Review Resume • Prepare for the Co-op Search Process• Submit Resumes to Co-op Coordinator

Cincinnati State Accomplishments

• First two-year college to establish mandatory co-op program in US.– First year, 118 students with 38 co-op employers.

– Today, average 3,000 placements annually with

approximately 700 employers.

• 1998 E. Sam Sovilla Award of Excellence• 2003-2011 ranked largest two-year co-op program in

US and 4th largest including all universities in US.

• Featured in Wall Street Journal.• Profiled on ABC national news.• Delivered over 300 co-op/internship training & conference

presentations.• 28 Faculty/staff have held leadership positions on

professional organizations’ Board of Directors.

(OCEA, MCEIA, CEIA, NCCE, WACE)• 14 Educator Awards from co-op/internship professional

organizations.• Hosted and/or chaired over 20 co-op/internship

conferences in greater Cincinnati and across US.

Cincinnati State Accomplishments

• 2007 inducted into the Cooperative Education Hall of Honor. Along with Georgia Tech, distinguished as the first college/university inductees.

“We are accepting this award on behalf of everyone who has contributed to our long history of leadership and success in cooperative education.”

Dr. Ron Wright, President

Cincinnati State College

Cincinnati State Accomplishments