Participant Benefits

Internships and Co-ops offer tremendous opportunities for students, employers, and educators alike.

Students gain valuable hands on experience and put theory into practice.
Employers receive well-trained, cost-effective employees.
Educators gain integral relations with business and industry, as well as enhanced classroom experiences for all students.

Student Benefits

Co-op programs enable students to apply classroom theory to actual work situations.
Co-op progrmas allow students to test out their interests and develop their long-gange career plans, and to selest elective course work which integrates their studies and career goals.
Co-op progrmas enhance the graduate's marketability by providing on-the-job training.
Students enrolled in co-op programs show increased academic performance (higher G.P.A., fewer failed courses), and a 20% greater graduation rate.
Co-op programs provede students with a source of financial aid to help defray their educational expenses.
Co-op programs develop students' overall maturity by strengthening resourcefulness, problem-solving skills, self-confidence, self-discipline and sense of responsibility.
Students develop human relations skills through interaction in career settings.

The cost of recruiting co-op students averages sixteen times less than recruiting recent college graduates.
Almost 50 percent of co-op students accept permanent positions with their co-op employers. The retention of college graduates after 5 years of employment is 30% greater for co-op graduates.
Typically, co-op students receive lower salaries and fewer fringe benefits than permanent employees. Total wages average 40% less for co-op students. In addition, employers are not required to pay unemployment compensation taxes on wages of co-op students if they are enrolled in a qualified program.
The percentage of minority group members hired is twice as high among co-op students as among recent college graduates, thus assisting co-op employers in meeting EEO objectives.
Co-op programs provide an opportunity to evaluate employees prior to a decision regarding full-time employment.
The co-op graduate's work performance is superior to that of a college graduate without co-op. Students are more flexible and easily adapt to a professional environment.
Regular staff members are freed up from more basic aspects of their jobs to focus on more demanding and profitable assignments.
Co-op programs supply students who have new ideas and fresh approaches. Co-op students ping state-of-the-art technical knowledge to their work assignments.
Co-op graduates are promoted sooner (and further) than other graduates.
Co-op programs build positive relationships between businesses and schools.

Cooperative work experience provides for an extension of classroom experience, thus integrating theory and practice.
Cooperative education keeps faculty members better informed and aware of current trends in business and industry.
Co-op programs build positive relationships between schools and businesses and provide faculty members with access to other knowledgeable people working in a variety of fields.
Co-op programs enhance the institution's reputation and attract students interested in the co-op plan to the school.
Cooperative education provides schools with additional business and industry training facilities that would otherwise be difficult to finance.
Cooperative education provides schools with lower placement costs for graduates