Cooperative education opportunities have been a staple of engineering training for over 100 years. An idea conceived at Lehigh University and first implemented at the University of Cincinnati, in the early 21st century over 150 engineering and engineering technology programs incorporate cooperative education opportunities into their curriculum. Cooperative education is a unique form of experiential education, and is traditionally delivered through either an alternating model, whereby student alternate work experience and academic coursework on a semester-by-semester bases or a parallel model, whereby students attend class for part of the day and work during the other part of the day (7). The potential benefits of cooperative education extend to the employer, the college or university, and to the student. Employers benefit from obtaining relatively inexpensive labor and from having the opportunity to hire motivated employees with whom they have an established investment (3, 7, 8). Educational institutions also benefit from cooperative education activities through strengthened ties between the educational and business communities which can lead to increased job placement rates and enhanced sensitivity to workforce trends and needs (8). Additionally, there is evidence indicating that providing opportunities for cooperative education positively impacts an institution's enrollment (14, 21).
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