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Chapter 2<br />
2-CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION<br />
• Although every effort is made by the Co-op and Career Services<br />
Office to facilitate work term placements, there is no guarantee<br />
that all co-op students will be placed in any given term. During any<br />
given term, the number of eligible students may exceed the number<br />
of available positions. Each employer decides upon the student(s)<br />
to be hired, and the process can be quite competitive; academic<br />
performance, attitude, potential, and general maturity may influence<br />
an employer’s decision.<br />
• During the work term students are expected to concentrate<br />
on work, not study. Students may enrol in one 3-credit academic<br />
course or equivalent during a work term. This 3-credit course is<br />
not to occur during your expected hours of co-op employment. Any<br />
student requesting an exception to this limit must obtain approval<br />
from the Registrar. Before granting such a request, the Registrar<br />
will typically consult with the employer, the <strong>Academic</strong> Dean, and the<br />
course instructors involved. Students should make the co-op position<br />
offered to them a priority, and should not take on other commitments<br />
that may interfere with work performance.<br />
• A student accepting a position with an employer is committed to<br />
return to that employer for at least a second work term. Failure to<br />
return for a second term when the employer requests one will result<br />
in a work term failure, unless written permission is obtained from<br />
Career Services. In some cases work terms may be arranged with<br />
no expectation of a second term; students will usually know when<br />
applying that a position is likely to be limited to a single term.<br />
WORK TERM EVALUATION:<br />
• Co-op students are required to submit a final work term reflection<br />
report for each work term they have secured. Due dates and<br />
consequences for late reports will be determined by the Co-op and<br />
Career Services Advisor. Employers may require additional reports<br />
as part of the duties of the position.<br />
• Generally, the evaluation of the work term reflection report is<br />
conducted by the Co-op and Career Services Advisor. The reports<br />
are graded on a Pass/Fail basis.<br />
• Work term placements are graded on a Pass/Fail basis. To<br />
pass, students must receive a pass on the work term reflection<br />
report. Additionally, the employer evaluation will also be taken into<br />
account.<br />
• An unsatisfactory work term reflection report may be upgraded<br />
for re-evaluation, subject to deadlines set by the Co-op and Career<br />
Services Advisor. Unsatisfactory reports that have not been resubmitted<br />
and judged acceptable will result in a “failed work term”<br />
entry on the Co-operative Education Student Record, and the student<br />
will usually be required to withdraw from the co-op program.<br />
• Work-term evaluations completed by the employer form a part of<br />
the permanent record for each student. Career Services will issue<br />
the evaluations directly to the employer, who will return the form<br />
directly to Career Services. Students are required to review this<br />
evaluation prior to its submission to Career Services.<br />
<strong>Academic</strong> Requirement<br />
To graduate with a Co-operative Education certificate, students must<br />
pass COOP0101 and successfully complete 3 work terms. One work<br />
term must be completed during the academic school year.<br />
List of required courses with course credits<br />
Students enrolled in the co-operative education program will be<br />
required to complete the following courses:<br />
COOP 0101 (career skills course)<br />
COOP 0201 (first four-month work term placement)<br />
COOP 0202 (second four-month work term placement)<br />
COOP 0301 (third four-month work term placement)<br />
List of Acceptable Options<br />
Students may pursue an 8-12 month work term placement rather<br />
than the traditional four-month work term placement at the discretion<br />
of the employer. An eight-month work term will be considered<br />
equivalent to two four-month work term placements. For registration<br />
purposes, students will have to enrol each semester in the necessary<br />
COOP course. For example if a student’s first placement was an<br />
8-month placement beginning in September, the student would enrol<br />
in COOP 0201 for the fall term and COOP 0202 for the winter term.<br />
FAILURE OF WORK TERM:<br />
Final grades for co-op work terms are recorded as pass/fail.<br />
For failures, reasons for the mark will be given to the student.<br />
Examples include:<br />
• Failure to report to an employer<br />
• Leaving an employer without prior approval from the Co-op and<br />
Career Services Advisor<br />
• Dismissal from a co-op position with cause<br />
• Unsatisfactory performance during a work term<br />
• Failure to submit a satisfactory final work term report<br />
The entry of “failed work term” may be appealed through normal<br />
university appeal channels. Students should attempt to resolve<br />
matters through discussion with Co-op and Career Services before<br />
initiating appeals.<br />
CO-OP GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:<br />
Upon graduation, students who have successfully completed<br />
all the requirements listed below will receive a Co-operative<br />
Education certificate in addition to their academic diploma.<br />
To earn a Co-operative Education certificate students must:<br />
• Complete all the academic requirements for their degree<br />
• Meet, or have been officially exempted from, all requirements for<br />
admission into the Algoma University Co-operative Education<br />
Program.<br />
• Complete 10 co-op credits (COOP 0101 plus 3 successful work<br />
terms).<br />
• Indicate “co-op” on the Request for Graduation form and submit<br />
to the Office of the Registrar at least four months prior to<br />
graduation.<br />
• To graduate with a Co-operative Education certificate, a<br />
student’s total work experience must be of a significant duration<br />
(typically, at least 30% of the time spent in academic study must<br />
be dedicated to work term experience). Under exceptional<br />
circumstances, a student may not complete the full number of<br />
required work terms; other students may be granted advanced<br />
admission to the co-op program. In such cases, students may<br />
apply to the Registrar for a one work term reduction under the<br />
co-op graduation requirements. Upon review, the <strong>Academic</strong> Dean<br />
will have the final authority to accept or deny such an application.<br />
16<br />
ALGOMA UNIVERSITY<br />
www.algomau.ca