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 Offices develop 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)
   • Computer Information Systems
   • General Business
   • Marketing Management
   • Bachelor of Business Administration

Department Website

www.douglascollege.ca/services/home.html

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. Complete the application forms obtained at the orientation session. The package includes the following forms:

• Application Form/Contract
• Resume authorization
• Current semester timetable of scheduled classes and other commitments
• Course planner
• Co-op applicant profile
• Current resume
• Appropriate documentation if you are a landed immigrant or international student

All of the above forms must be returned to the Co-op Office by the specified deadline date.

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.

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 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 mandatory work semesters (COOP 1100 and COOP 2300), students will be eligible to have a Co-op Education designation on their diploma or associate degree.

Co-operative Education designation is currently under review. 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.

Examples of various Co-op options by semester:

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

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 contact Jan Gara at 604-527-5006 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 Co-operative Education Fund of British Columbia.
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.