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WTAMU Co-op & Internship Faculty Information
The West Texas A&M University Co-op & Internship Program
Helping prepare students who are professionally competitive and
contributing members of society through work-learning experiences
VHAC 210, Phone: 651-2345; Fax: 651-2925
http://wtcareer.wtamu.edu/coop/coop.htm
What Are Co-ops & Internships?
Why Have Your Students Involved in Co-op/Internships?
The Process of Granting Credit What Our Office Can Do For You Resources
To Share With Students
Contact: Steve Sellars: ssellars@mail.wtamu.edu
What Are Co-ops & Internships?
Co-ops , or cooperative education placements, are progressive, multi-semester,
relevant learning experiences. Co-ops are paid positions and are faculty-approved for
academic credit.
Internships are designed to be a one-semester experience relating to the student's
educational area of study. Internships may or may not be paid and are usually not eligible
for academic credit.
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Why Have Your Students Involved in Co-op/Internships?
Student participation in structured co-ops & internships can yield tremendous
dividends. Some of these include:
- A proven method to help students apply and deepen classroom learning (contact our office
for supporting documentation).
- Paid positions that provide students with an income source to help finance their
education.
- Student connection with the Career and Counseling Services Office. Here they can access
career guidance resources, resume and interviewing assistance, and full-time placement
services as they near graduation.
- Increasing the employability of graduates from your department.
- More success in recruiting students to the university and your department because of
increased marketability at graduation.
- Stronger ties with the local business community. The potential for scholarships and
other beneficial arrangements increase through strengthening these relationships.
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The Process of Granting Credit
By working with our office , the
time and effort required to monitor placements can be reduced while maintaining a high quality structure. We can assist with
establishing learning objectives, coordinating on-site visits and collecting
end-of-semester evaluations. By partnering with us, your department will also be able to
effectively manage a greater number of placements.
The departments currently working with us usually follow one of two models. The Two-Semester
Format is
for departments who are comfortable granting credit for students who work at least two
semesters in a co-op/ intern position. Others are comfortable granting credit for a
one-semester experience. These faculty members prefer the One-Semester Format.
Both formats have some basic assumptions. These include:
- No more than three hours of academic credit will be given.
- Academic credit will not be given retroactively.
- For individuals currently working within an organization, no academic credit will be
given for an existing functional area experience.
- Semesters are defined as Fall, Spring, and Summer (consisting of Summer I and Summer
II).
Two-Semester Format
- The Co-op/Intern Office will send job descriptions along with preliminary student goals
for your approval. By approving a position, faculty acknowledge the possibility of
academic credit for the student. The ultimate decision to grant credit, however, depends
on the student’s academic background, number of hours worked on the job, etc.
- The Co-op/Intern Office will post the job, distribute flyers across campus and call and
email students to let them know about the opportunity. Faculty will refer interested
students to the Co-op/Intern Office. Here they develop a resume, polish their interviewing
skills and start a placement file.
- The Co-op/Intern Office distributes resumes to the employer.
- Employers will interview and offer the position to the student of their choice.
- At the end of the first full semester, an assessment will be performed to determine if
preliminary goals and objectives have been met. This assessment will be documented.
- Before the second semester begins, the student will bring the faculty his/her first
semester evaluation, an approval form, and goals and objectives for the second semester.
Faculty may decline to give credit if in their judgement the formalized goals and
objectives are not consistent with the traditional granting of academic credit. However,
if everything looks OK, the faculty will enroll the student in the appropriate course.
- Midway through the semester, the Co-op/Intern Office will coordinate an on-site visit so
that both a faculty member and a representative from the Co-op/Intern Office can visit the
student and the employer at the work site. An on-site visit report will be on file in the
Co-o/Intern Office.
- At the end of the second semester, employer and student evaluations will be sent out and
turned in at the Co-op/Intern office. Copies will be sent to the faculty.
- Students will be required to turn in a report and other academic material faculty may
need to assign a grade. Typical assignments are work journals, end of semester reports,
oral presentations or a combination of any or all of these.
- Faculty assign a grade and turn it into the registrar at the appropriate time.
One-Semester Format
- The Co-op/Intern Office will send job descriptions along
with preliminary student goals for your approval. By approving a position, faculty
acknowledge the possibility of academic credit for the student. The ultimate decision to
grant credit, however, depends on the student’s academic background, number of hours
worked on the job, etc.
- The Co-op/Intern Office will post the job, distribute flyers across campus and call and
email students to let them know about the opportunity. Faculty will refer interested
students to the Co-op/Intern Office. Here they develop a resume, polish their interviewing
skills and start a placement file.
- The Co-op/Intern Office distributes resumes to the employer.
- Employers will interview and offer the position to the student of their choice.
- Before the next full semester begins, the student will bring the faculty an approval
form along with goals and objectives for the semester. Faculty may decline to give credit
if in their judgement the formalized goals and objectives are not consistent with the
traditional granting of academic credit. However, if everything looks OK, faculty will
enroll the student in the appropriate course.
- Midway through the semester, the Co-op/Intern Office will coordinate an on-site visit so
that both a faculty member and a representative from the Co-op/Intern Office can visit the
student and the employer at the work site. An on-site visit report will be on file in the
Co-o/Intern Office.
- At the end of the semester, employer and student evaluations will be sent out and turned
in at the Co-op/Intern office. Copies will be sent to the faculty.
- Students will be required to turn in a report and other academic material faculty may
need to assign a grade. Typical assignments are work journals, end of semester reports,
oral presentations or a combination of any or all of these.
- Faculty assign a grade and turn it into the registrar at the appropriate time.
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What Our Office Can Do For You
In keeping with the mission of our university, we are committed to helping your
students develop strong critical thinking and problem solving skills and making them
professionally competitive. We believe co-op and internship positions help students
achieve these goals. Our office can help you make quality co-op and internship experiences
happen in your department by:
- Contacting employers and developing opportunities for students
- Following up on employer leads you may provide our office
- Publicizing co-op/internship opportunities across campus
- Making career or experiential education presentations to your class
- Helping students prepare resumes and develop interviewing skills
- Assisting students who are receiving credit develop learning objectives
- Sending out and collecting end of semester evaluations
- Coordinating on-site visits
We are also available to help any of your students with career counseling issues. Our
trained counselors are excellent at assisting students conduct career exploration and
define their career goals. Refer students to our office, VHAC 210, or have them call us @
651-2345 to schedule an appointment with a counselor.
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Resources To Share With Students
Whether or not you use our office to help coordinate your co-op and internship
placements, we have some outstanding resources you will want to inform your students
about. These include:
- Resume Workshops
- Career Counseling
- Career Resource Library
- Mock Interviewing Service
- Placement Portfolios for Graduating Seniors
- On-campus Interviews for Seniors and Alumni
- Resume Referral Database for Graduating Seniors and Alumni
- Job Fairs
- Personal Counseling
Don’t hesitate to contact us if we can assist you or your students in any way.
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