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

– Vision and Mission Statements– Students– Employers– Institution– Metrics

Process for Review of Waterloo Co-op

• Set by the Co-operative Education Council• Seven Themes for Examination

– 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

Terms of Reference

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

• Size/Growth• Competitive Landscape• Faculties and Co-op• Largest Co-op Employer• Feedback from External Reviewers• Emerging Strategic Priorities from

PostStone project

Co-op at Waterloo, 2012

Size/Growth of Co-op

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-120

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

Students Scheduled out by Year in All Faculties

Scheduled out

Linear (Scheduled out)

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)

• 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

Faculties and Co-op

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?