Benefits of Cooperative Education
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There are many ways in which a cooperative education can be beneficial in the long run. With co-op programs all participants (the university, the student, and the employer) reap distinct advantages.
Student Benefits
Employer Benefits
Educational Institution Benefits
Student Benefits
- Co-op programs allow students to test out their interests and develop their long-range career plans and goals.
- Students enrolled in Co-op programs statistically show increased academic performance and a 20% greater graduation rate.
- Co-op programs develop students’ overall maturity by strengthening resourcefulness, problem-solving skills, self-confidence, self-discipline, and sense of responsibility.
- Co-op programs provide students with a source of financial aid to help defray their educational expenses.
- Students develop human relations skills through interaction in career settings.
Employer Benefits
- The cost of recruiting co-op students averages 16 times less than recruiting recent college graduates.
- Statistically, almost 50% of co-op students accept permanent positions with their co-op employers.
- The co-op graduate’s work performance is often superior to that of a college graduate without a co-op. Students are more flexible and easily adapt to a professional environment.
- Co-op programs supply students who have new ideas and fresh approaches. Co-op students bring state-of-the-art technical knowledge to their work assignments.
- Co-op graduates are generally promoted sooner and further than other graduates.
- Co-op programs build positive relationships between businesses and schools.
Educational Institution Benefits
- 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 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.