Co-operative Education

The Douglas College Co-operative Education Program is a unique program that enables students to integrate academic studies with related employment experience. Co-op students alternate semesters of classroom studies with semesters of paid, full-time employment experience. The goal of Co-op Education is to help students develop the necessary confidence and employer-valued abilities to succeed in today's competitive job market.

The College's Co-op Office develops employment experience placement contacts with local business, industry and government. Through a competitive application and interview process, students are partnered with these co-op employers. Although the College cannot guarantee employment placements to all qualifying students, co-op personnel work closely with students to arrange suitable placements. Considerable care is taken to match the skills, knowledge and aspirations of co-op students with employer requirements.

Co-operative Education is offered as an option within the following academic programs:

1. Associate of Arts Degree/Diploma
2. Associate of Science Degree/Diploma
3. Business Diplomas:
   • Accounting Management
   • Business Management
   • Commerce and Business Administration (UT Transfer Commerce)
   • Computing Science and Information Systems
   • General Business
   • Marketing Management
4. Bachelor of Business Administration
5. Bachelor of Physical Education and Coaching

Department Website

www.douglascollege.ca/co-op

Qualification Criteria for Work Terms
To qualify for a work term, students must:

1. have attended the scheduled orientation session and workshops
2. be registered in a provincially approved Co-op Education program of study at Douglas College as a full-time student (for the purposes of co-op, a total of nine credit hours minimum)
3. have completed at least 18 program-related credits at Douglas College prior to their first co-op work term, including demonstrated competency in numeracy, as well as in language and computer literacy
4. have attained a minimum program Grade Point Average of 2.33 in previous course work at Douglas College (GPA requirements are higher if students are transferring to a university)

Admission Procedures

1. Prior to applying for a work term, students must attend the orientation session held at the beginning of each semester.
2. Submit the online application form found on the Co-operative Education website. Please submit your landed immigrant or international student documentation if you are not yet a Canadian citizen.

New Co-op applicants must return the online application form to the Co-op Office by a specified deadline date each semester. Returning Co-op students may submit a Returning Student’s Form, also found on the Co-operative Education website, any time during the semester.

International students must meet with the Co-operative Education Coordinator (604-527-5608) to discuss eligibility.

Students must reapply for each semester in which they wish to undertake a work term and ensure they meet the eligibility criteria.

Program Requirements

To remain enrolled in the Co-op Program, students are required to:

1. Receive satisfactory evaluations of work term performance from both the employer and the Faculty Advisor. This includes completion of work term projects.
2. Continue to attend Douglas College full-time (9 credits) during academic semesters.
3. Maintain a minimum GPA for the designated program. If you are transferring to a university, please check with the host institution's Co-op Office before transferring.

Nine Co-op Education College credits will be awarded for each completed work semester. Upon successful completion of two work semesters (COOP 1100 and COOP 2300) or (COOP 1100 and COOP 1200), students will be eligible to have a Co-op Education designation on their diploma or associate degree.

Work term arrangements (length full or part-time) will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Coordinator at 604-527-5608 for further information.

Course Sequence and Identification

Prerequisite	Mandatory	Optional	Credits
Attendance at workshops	COOP 1100*	-	9.0
COOP 1100*	-	COOP 1200*	9.0
COOP 1100*	COOP 2300*	-	9.0
COOP 2300*	-	COOP 2400*	9.0

An additional Co-op work term (COOP 2400*) may be available to interested students and employers, on an exception basis, after COOP 2300* and between academic semesters 3 and 4.

SAMPLE COURSE SEQUENCING FOR TWO-YEAR DIPLOMA PROGRAMS:

Year	Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3
1	Academic 1 Orientation	Academic 2 Orientation and Workshops	COOP 1100* (work placement)
2	COOP 1200* or Academic 3	Academic 3 or COOP 2300*	COOP 2300* or Academic 4
3	Academic 4

SAMPLE COURSE SEQUENCING FOR ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT DIPLOMA/BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION  APPLIED DEGREE PROGRAM

Note:  A student who has completed two work terms while in the Accounting Management Diploma program can complete COOP 3500 and graduate with Co-op designation. In order to graduate from the BBA program, however, the student must complete BUSN 4500, the portfolio /work experience course.
Students can complete COOP 4500 in lieu of BUSN 4500 in the second last semester of the program.

SAMPLE COURSE SEQUENCING FOR SPORT SCIENCE DIPLOMA/BACHELOR OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND COACHING PROGRAM

Notes:

1. The Co-op Program has developed flexible options for students with disabilities. Please contact Nathan Anderson at 604-527-5517 or 604 527-5486 for further information.
2. International Students should call 604-527-5638 for assistance.
3. Further information on the program and its operational protocols is available at the Co-op Office or by calling 604-527-5100.

Transferability of Co-op Education Credits
Co-operative Education work terms successfully completed at a British Columbia post-secondary institution will be eligible for transfer credit if they meet the following requirements:

1. The student must be accepted into the receiving institution's Co-op Program. GPA requirements may differ for each receiving institution.
2. The program in which the work term(s) was (were) undertaken is provincially approved under the criteria outlined under the Accountability Council for Co-operative Education-(ACCE) or the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE) guidelines..
3. The work term is officially recognized, i.e. noted on the transcript, by the institution in which the work term originated.
4. The work term(s) was (were) granted for experience in the same discipline into which the student is transferring.

Regardless of the number of work terms accepted, students will be required to complete at least 50 percent of the required work terms in the new program into which they are transferring. Acceptance into a Co-op Program at one institution does not guarantee acceptance into the receiving institution's Co-op Program.