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| Cooperative Education (Co-op) Program |
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| The University of South Alabama Engineering Cooperative Education Program provides an opportunity for selected students to alternate time in the classroom with periods of paid, full-time, career-related work experience in industry or private and government agencies. The program, which is optional at USA, entails work assignments one semester in duration which begin in either the third or fourth semester until three work semesters, 52 weeks, are completed. |
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| The freshman and senior years are spent entirely in classes on campus. The faculty has established a minimum grade point average (GPA) required for eligibility to participate in the Program. This GPA is subject to change on an annual basis. Preparation of a total college plan with the student's academic courses. After students enter the program, they must continue on an alternating basis until they complete the last co-op semester, must be satisfactorily completed in order to receive an Engineering Cooperative Education Completion Certificate. |
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Path 1 |
Path 2 |
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Fall |
Spring |
Summer |
Year 1 |
C |
C |
C* |
Year 2 |
W |
C |
W |
Year 3 |
C |
W |
C |
Year 4 |
W |
C |
aW |
Year 5 |
C |
C |
aC* |
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Fall |
Spring |
Summer |
Year 1 |
C |
C |
W |
Year 2 |
C |
W |
C |
Year 3 |
W |
C |
W |
Year 4 |
C |
W |
aC* |
Year 5 |
C |
C |
a |
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C= Class; W= Work; C*= Class Optional |
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| In order to qualify for the co-op program, student must meet the following requirements: |
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| They must have completed two or three semesters of study, including 24 credit hours towards their engineering degree which must include MA 125, Calculus I and MA 126, Calculus II; but, they may not initiate participation after they have started their senior year; they must be in good academic standing (students cannot be on academic warning or probation), maintaining a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.3. |
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| They are not permitted to take classes or be registered for other degree requirements during the co-op assignment, except that special exceptions may be granted by joint approval of the academic advisor and the work site supervisor; and they must be full-time students. |
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| Exceptions to any of these requirements may be requested by submitting a written petition to the Coordinator of Engineering Cooperative Education who consults with the Dean of the College of Engineering for a final decision. |
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| Advantages to Students and Employers |
| Co-op offers several advantages for students: |
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Co-op students can handle assignments that may be difficult for untrained personnel, but that do not require the talents of full-time professionals. |
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The program gives employers the chance to judge the actual on-the-job performance of potential permanent employees. |
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Retention rates for permanent employees recruited through a co-op program are higher than for those hired through other routes. |
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| The Employment Process |
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Students interested in participating in the co-op program must register with the Co-op Office several months before the start date of the work assignment.
Engineering Cooperative Education students must register for the appropriate Cooperative Education (COE) course each work term. In order to receive co-op credit on the USA transcript, students must notify and register with Career Services immediately upon acceptance of any co-op position.
After students complete the training in resume writing and interviewing skills that the Co-op Office provides, the employment process begins. Employers seeking to fill a co-op position provide the Co-op Office with a brief job description. Students decide which types of jobs they are interested in applying for and the Co-op Office forwards their resume, transcript, and degree plan to appropriate employers. Some employers interview candidates on campus; others review resumes and then invite selected students for on-site interviews. The final hiring decision is made by the employer. The student is free to interview with more than one employer and to choose among the employment offers received. After accepting an offer the student must withdraw his or her name from consideration by other employers. It may take several months before the student obtains a co-op assignment. A co-op position is not guaranteed, but every effort is made to locate appropriate work assignments for qualified students. |
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| Information and Registration |
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| Students interested in exploring the possibility of participating in the program should contact: |
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The Engineering Co-op Coordinator
USA Career Services
Meisler Hall, Suite 2100
Mobile, Alabama 36688
(251) 460-6188
Career Services website |
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Mobile Alabama 36688-0002 (251) 460-6101
For questions or comments
Date last changed:
May 4, 2007 2:58 PM
http://www.southalabama.edu/engineering/coop.shtml
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