Cooperative Education

Cooperative Education (Co-op) extends education beyond the traditional classroom experience by taking “theory-to-practice” in the workplace. Co-op offers an opportunity for students to gain experience and develop new knowledge and skill in their chosen discipline, while earning upper-level college credit. Students may, therefore, accelerate achievement of their career goals while earning upper-level college credit to complete their bachelor’s degree.
To be eligible for Co-op, students must:

• Be seeking a degree from UMUC
• Have completed 30 credits, including transfer credit,  toward a degree
• Have completed at least 9 credits in the discipline in which they plan to do their Co-op project
• Have a GPA of 2.5 or better at UMUC
• Be working in a job or internship that provides an opportunity to apply classroom theory to practical projects incorporating significant analysis and problem solving directly related to the student’s academic discipline. (The work experience may be paid or unpaid, part-time or full-time.)

Students interested in pursuing a Cooperative Education experience must first develop a learning proposal that identifies several project tasks representing the new learning to be acquired as a result of the work experience; a faculty member in the appropriate discipline must then approve the learning proposal to ensure that it constitutes upper-level college learning. Once the learning proposal is approved, the student is given permission to register for Co-op. The learning proposal is then developed into a three-way learning contract among the employer, the student, and the faculty mentor.

Throughout the Co-op experience, students work under the supervision of the employer on completion of several of the identified project tasks and the faculty mentor on the completion of academic assignments required to earn college credit for their work experience. The project tasks for the employer constitute the course content, which is augmented by the reflective academic assignments for review by the faculty mentor. Students are required to communicate regularly with their faculty mentor throughout the Co-op term, which typically lasts 15 weeks.

Students may earn either 3 or 6 credits during the Co-op term. To earn 3 credits, students must devote at least 
12 hours per week to tasks providing new learning (for a total of 120 hours during the Co-op term) and complete a minimum of four project tasks identified in the learning contract. To earn 6 credits, students must devote at least 20 hours per week to project tasks (for a total of 300 hours during the Co-op term) and complete five to eight project tasks identified in the learning contract.

Co-op projects may be developed in all undergraduate disciplines. Courses are listed with the designator of the discipline and numbered 486A (for 3 credits) or 486B (for 6 credits). For example, a 3-credit Co-op in business and management would be listed as BMGT 486A, a 6-credit as BMGT 486B. Tuition for the Co-op course is charged at the current rate per credit, and an administrative fee is charged each time the student enrolls.

Students may apply up to 15 Co-op credits to their bachelor’s degree. Co-op courses may not be used to satisfy general education requirements or required academic coursework in the major. However, Co-op credits may be applied to electives as well as to upper-level supplemental courses in the major or minor. A standard letter grade is awarded for successful completion of Co-op courses. It is strongly recommended that students consult with a UMUC advisor to determine how Co-op credits may help them fulfill degree requirements.

For more information, students should review the information, policies, and procedures detailed online at http://www.umuc.edu/coop/coop_home.shtml and/or contact an academic advisor in Heidelberg.