The Significant Benefits

The Student

Provides work experience which is relevant to academic major and career goals.
Helps to define career goals so that more realistic job choices can be made.
Establishes valuable professional contacts and broadens job opportunities after graduation.
Provides income to help with college expenses.
Increases self-confidence; interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills.
Enhances motivation and classroom participation by relating academics to the world of work.
Cultivates a network of professional contacts that will prove helpful over the course of student's career.
Provides potential to earn up to 10 college credits.
Creates a student who can handle more difficult assignments (than non-Co-op students) and highly productive employees.
Provides students sense of independence.
Develops communications and critical-thinking skills.
Fosters faster professional maturity.
Provides career exploration and allows students to plan for the future.
Provides opportunity to work for a diverse number of companies--from Fortune 500 corporations to small entrepreneurial firms.
Introduces student to the concept and reality of lifelong learning and specific preparation for professional skills.
Enables the student to confirm career objectives before graduation.

Accessible year-around supply of well-trained and highly motivated student employees who want to work and learn.
Opportunity to initiate projects not funded in the basic budget and to undertake short-term endeavors.
Lends relief for an organization's more skilled permanently staffed professionals to perform other tasks and to act in supervisory roles.
Cost-effective means of evaluating the potential of future employees without making a long-term hiring commitment.
If a student employee is hired later in a permanent position, significantly less training time is needed.
Consideration as co-educators with opportunity to exchange ideas and developments, including joint research.
Enhances image of the organization as socially responsible.

Receives feedback on quality and relevance of its academic programs and course content.
Receives relevant information on current research and development in the employer/employee sectors.