Pursuing Excellence
Through Experience
2012 Review of Co-operative
Education at Waterloo
Department Chairs’ Forum
Thursday October 25, 2012
Presentation Outline
• Process for the Review
• Co-op at Waterloo, 2012
• Highlights of Recommendations
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Vision and Mission Statements
Students
Employers
Institution
Metrics
Process for Review of
Waterloo Co-op
Terms of Reference
• Set by the Co-operative Education Council
• Seven Themes for Examination
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Vision and mission statements, opportunities for innovation
Integration between work term and classroom learning
Employment rates, especially for first work terms
University of Waterloo as a model co-op employer
Connections to student success initiatives
Talent management for employers
Engagement among all stakeholders
Committee Members
• Chair: Judene Pretti, WatCACE
• Associate Deans: Ron McCarville, Wayne
Parker
• Co-operative Education and Career Action
Directors: Rocco Fondacaro, Ross Johnston
• Student Leaders: Natalie Cockburn, Eric
Cousineau, Adam Garcia, Bryanne Pashley
Timelines for Review
• June 2011: terms of reference established
• September 2011: committee started work
• April 2012: self-study prepared by committee
submitted to Co-op Education Council
• June 2012: external review visit
• November 2012: expected completion of final
report
Input to the Review
• Progress towards recommendations from
the 2005 review
• Stakeholder research project initiated by
CECA and conducted by PostStone Inc.
– More than 30 input sessions with employers,
students, faculty, staff, alumni, and sr. admin
• Feedback from external review team
External Review
• Three day visit in June 2012
• Norah McRae, Co-op Director at
University of Victoria, BC and President of
Canadian Association for Co-op (CAFCE)
• Dr. Kettil Cedercreutz, Associate Provost,
University of Cincinnati
• Mike Esch, Sr. Director, Christie Digital
Co-op at Waterloo, 2012
Co-op at Waterloo, 2012
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Size/Growth
Competitive Landscape
Faculties and Co-op
Largest Co-op Employer
Feedback from External Reviewers
Emerging Strategic Priorities from
PostStone project
Size/Growth of Co-op
Students Scheduled out by Year in All Faculties
16000
14000
12000
10000
Scheduled out
8000
Linear (Scheduled out)
6000
4000
2000
0
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
Competitive Landscape
• 80 institutions in Canada offering co-op
programs
• Companies post positions at more than one
institution and may prefer hiring local talent
• Other institutions are strategic about ways
they can differentiate themselves with
employers (e.g. earlier or more flexible dates,
longer work terms)
Faculties and Co-op
• Each Faculty has an Associate Dean
responsible for Co-op
• Co-operative Education Council meets monthly
• Some Faculties using co-op data to inform
program reviews and accreditation requirements
• Prism Publication by CECA
• Referrals for job leads from faculty to CECA
• Faculty Relations Managers in CECA
Feedback from External
Reviewers
“The University of Waterloo has a world class
reputation for co-operative education excellence
and this reputation is well deserved.”
Identified themes to explore:
• integration
• increased flexibility for students
• collecting and using feedback from employers
and students
Highlights of
Recommendations
Co-operative Education at
Waterloo
Vision
“Pursuing Excellence Through Experience”
Mission
“Enhancing learning through workplace
experience”
Students
• Pre-arrival communication strategy about
how to best prepare for co-op
• Research on correlations between
Admission Information form and co-op
success
• Interventions for two high risk groups
• Increase opportunity and awareness for
non-traditional work terms
Employers
• Work with Faculties to examine where opportunities
exist to give students and employers more flexibility
in the length of work terms
• Continue work underway to formalize a strategy to
help employers meet short and long term hiring
needs
• Provide opportunities for employers to network and
receive recognition for their contribution to Waterloo
co-op
Institution – Outcomes
• Engage faculty at the program level by
ensuring that the role of co-op in
developing outcomes of graduates is
considered during outcomes assessment
exercises such as those mandated by
COU (UDLE) and CEAB.
Institution - Integration
• Explore alternate forms of co-op
assessment
– New Student Performance Evaluation form
(by employers) to connect to UDLE and CEAB
– Alternatives to work reports (Accounting,
Pharmacy, AHS)
• Work with CTE and newly appointed
Teaching Fellows
Institution - Model Employer
• Spring 2012: Research project conducted by
14 co-op students working for 7 different
departments
• Fall 2012: Presentations on findings and next
steps
• Winter 2013
– Pilot welcome package of best practices
– Establish a cross-campus working group
Framework for Co-op Metrics
Student
Employer
Experience
between student
and employer
- Recruiting experience
- Work term quality
- Support on work term
- Recruiting experience
- Work term quality
- Organizational outcome
Process
- Enough relevant job
postings
- Job search process
- Process changes
managed smoothly
and communicated
effectively
- Recruiting process
- Work term support
- uW relationship
management
- Process changes managed
smoothly and
communicated effectively
Questions? Comments?