253.535.7324
www.plu.edu/~cooped
Cooperative Education is a unique program that offers hands-on job experience. Through internships students weave working and learning together. The program features systematic cooperation between the university and an extensive number of employers in the Puget Sound community, though a student may participate in a co-op experience anywhere in the world.
Students gain an appreciation of the relationship between theory and application, and may learn, both early and first hand, about new developments in a particular field. A cooperative education experience enables students to become aware of the changing dimensions of work. It is a key program in PLU's fabric of investigative learning.
FACULTY: Herbert-Hill, Director
TWO MODELS: The Cooperative Education Program accommodates both part-time and full-time work schedules. Part-time work allows students to take on-campus courses concurrently. A full-time work experience requires students to dedicate the entire term to their co-op employment. In most cases, students will follow one or the other, but some departments or schools may develop sequences that combine both full-time and part-time work options.
THE PROCESS FOR STUDENTS: To be eligible for admission into the Cooperative Education Program a student must have completed 32 semester hours and be in good standing with the university.
Students who wish to enroll in Cooperative Education must contact their department faculty or the Director of the Co-op Program to determine eligibility, terms for placement, areas of interest, academic requirements, and internship options.
Students are responsible for completing a learning agreement including learning objectives, related activities, and academic documentation of learning during their cooperative education experience. Each student must arrange for academic supervision from a faculty sponsor. Faculty are responsible for insuring that the work experience provides appropriate learning opportunities, for helping to establish the learning agreement, and for determining a grade.
Learning is assessed through a Learning Agreement, completing an academic project, periodic contact with the faculty sponsor, and an on-site supervisor who acts as a professional role model and mentor. The learning agreement, developed by each student with the assistance of a faculty sponsor, lists learning objectives, a description of how those objectives will be accomplished, and how students will document what they have learned. The learning agreement is signed by the student, the faculty sponsor, the program director, and the work supervisor, each of whom receives a copy. Contact (personal, phone, electronic, etc.) between the faculty sponsor and the student must be sufficient to allow the sponsor to serve as a resource and provide academic supervision. Site visits may be made by the faculty sponsor or the co-op program director in agreement with the faculty sponsor.
Employers are responsible to: (1) provide opportunities for students to achieve their learning objectives within the limits of their work settings; (2) help students develop skills related to the contextual aspects of the work world (such as relationships with co-workers); and (3) facilitate students' integration into their work setting so that their employment proves valuable and productive.
Students are required to register for at least 1 credit hour after accepting a co-op position. Throughout an undergraduate academic career a student may receive a maximum of 16 credits in cooperative education.
276 Work Experience I
A supervised educational experience in a work setting. Requires the
completion of a Cooperative Education Learning Agreement in
consultation with a faculty sponsor. (1-8)
476 Work Experience II
A supervised educational experience in a work setting providing for
advanced level of responsibility. Requires the completion of a
Cooperative Education Learning Agreement in consultation with a faculty
sponsor. (1-8)
477 International Work Experience
A supervised educational work experience in another country. Requires a
faculty sponsor and an academically approved position. Consultation
witht the Wang Center is necessary to facilitate the international
process. Students must work with the Cooperative Education Office to
complete the Learning Agreement for their international internship.
(1-12)
576 Work Experience III
A supervised educational experience at the graduate level. Requires
completion of a Cooperative Education Agreement in consultation with a
faculty sponsor and the student's graduate program advisor. (1-4)