School of Engineering and Computer Science
Employer Information
How Your Company Can Get Involved
The co-op Program is a three-way partnership involving the University, the employer and the student. To ensure that all parties experience a positive relationship, we request that all co-op employers review the SOECS expectations for the co-op assignment.
- Employers are encouraged to provide a brief job description.
- The job assignment must relate to the student’s field of study. These assignments should be challenging and increase with difficulty during the course of the co-op.
- The student should be supervised by a degreed engineer or computer scientist who should meet regularly with the student.
- Students must be paid a reasonable salary.
- Employers are expected to allow the co-op coordinators and faculty advisors to visit the work-site and review the program.
- It is recommended that student learning objectives and employer expectations be outlined early in the process so both parties are aware of each other’s goals for the work term.
- Employers must complete an evaluation (form provided by the co-op office) upon the student’s completion of the co-op experience. We encourage employers to meet with the student to review their performance over the duration of the co-op.
Review the guidelines we ask our employers to follow for the CoOp Education Program.
Benefits to Employers
Accessible Talent Pool – Exposure to a year-round supply of well-trained, highly motivated student employees. Students spend 6 months on the job working, not merely training.
Relief to Workforce – Students lend relief to an organization’s more skilled, permanently staffed professionals to perform other tasks in peak or normal periods. They add enthusiasm, a fresh perspective and an infusion of energy to your existing work environment.
Evaluate Prospective Employees – Employers have a cost-effective means of evaluating the potential of future employees without making a long-term hiring commitment. If a co-op graduate is hired to a permanent position, significantly less training time is needed.
Promote Your Company – Promote your company on campus with co-ops. Upon their return to school, co-ops share their work experiences with their classmates, thus bringing your organization to the attention of other students – one of the most effective means of “advertising” an employer can have.
Reduce Recruitment Costs – Provides you with a seamless way to meet your long-range recruitment goals. You can carefully evaluate the student as a prospective employee before deciding to initiate negotiations for permanent employment. Hiring through co-op greatly reduces new employee recruitment costs that could range between $30,000 to $50,000 per hire.
Example Job Descriptions
The following pages provide samples of the tasks our students are performing for local businesses:
