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What is Co-op?
UNT's Cooperative Education (Co-op) & Internships program integrates classroom theory with work experience specific to a student's major. Our primary focus is to give students a broader educational experience through work. Many times, these positions can also lead to full-time employment upon graduation. Co-op at its best involves a partnership among students, employers, and the university.
How is Co-op different from an Internship?
Employers often use the terms interchangeably, but internships last only one semester (usually summer), whereas co-op positions have the opportunity to be multiple semester, as long as the employer is happy with the student and vice versa.
Parallel + Summer Full-time
The term “parallel” in this case refers to a student working and going to school at the same time during a semester. Most often students work part-time during fall and spring, and full-time during the summer. Parallel + Summer Part-time
These positions are part-time year round (including summer). These positions allow the students to take classes during the summer, but they also limit the amount a student can earn during the summer months.
Parallel + Summer Flexible
Many employers allow the student to decide whether the summer hours will be full-time or part-time.
Alternating
Alternating positions are those in which students work full-time for a period of time (usually a semester, sometimes 6 months), and then return to school full-time for a semester. Then, students go back to work full-time for a second work period, followed by a semester at school, and so on. Most alternating positions require at least two work periods, although many students discover that this is such an ideal blend of educational and career goals, that they choose to continue this alternation until graduation.
This is the most traditional and formal type of co-op position. It requires the highest level of commitment from an employer and a student, and will usually provide the highest level of experience. Most often, students who rotate through several alternating work periods are seriously considered for full-time offers upon graduation.
Summer (ONLY) Positions
Summer-only positions are available through the Co-op office, and can be considered for credit with most departments. Since they last only one semester, these are called internships and are not part of our formal co-op program.
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We ask employers to follow these guidelines when considering co-op or internships:
- The position description posted is an accurate representation of the student’s responsibilities
- The student will be supervised by a practicing professional in the field
- The supervisor will evaluate the student’s performance at the end of each semester
- The employer will not hinder the student’s academic progress
- The work environment is appropriate to the profession and is not a private residence
- The employer will provide a safe working environment for the student
- The employer will allow occasional on-site evaluation visits by UNT’s Cooperative Education & Internships staff for the purpose of verifying the student’s progress and success
- The employer will honor semester-long work periods; however, if a student is terminated before the end of a semester for any reason, the employer will notify the co-op office immediately
- The employer will terminate any student who is no longer in good standing with the co-op/internship program (see below).
Student Guidelines
Students are required to follow these guidelines when considering co-op or internships. Students must:
- maintain a 2.5 GPA (3.0 for Graduate students)
- make satisfactory progress towards his/her degree
- abide by good ethical standards and practices on campus and at the workplace
- honor semester-long work periods unless previously agreed upon by both employer and student
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Employers find that using a co-op or intern:
- Provides you with an excellent pool of well-prepared employees
- Improves your personnel selection process by using actual on-the-job performance as a basis for permanent hiring decisions
- Increases your cost-effectiveness of recruitment and training. Studies show employers save money by using co-op to identify and train personnel
- Increases your retention rates among permanent employees recruited and hired through a co-op program
- Enhances your human resource flexibility with effective short-term employees
- Strengthens your relations with colleges and students. Through evaluations, advisory boards and other means, employers can work with colleges to ensure an effective curriculum
- Allows you first access to students
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