Co-operative Education and Student Engagement, Recruitment, and Retention: Findings of Interest and Questions to Ponder

Presented by: E. Anderson, BCITN. Johnston, SFU

CAFCEUPEI, June 2010

Overview of Session

Five Outcomes of Interest from Phase 1 Analysis

In Depth exploration of: Co-op for credit Co-op recruitment and family/sisters Co-op and academic engagement

Other Applications:Employer persuasion (Mining)Academic persuasion (SFU Career Services & IRP;

TRU co-op for credit)

Five Outcomes of Interest from Phase 1 Analysis

1. Co-op participation influences students’ academic choices to better align them with their career choices, thereby enhancing student retention and success.

2. Participation in at least one work term has a positive impact on students’ academic engagement which is linked to Kuh’s notion of “enriching educational experience” – a positive contributor to overall institutional student satisfaction.

Outcomes of Interest from Phase 1 Analysis

3. The ability to participate in co-op was a factor considered by approximately 50% of co-op students when they chose their post-secondary institution.

4. Recruitment into optional co-op programs is greatly influenced by friends, family and institutional web-based outreach.

5. More students would consider co-op if they could obtain credit for work terms towards their academic degree and end on a co-op term.

In Depth Exploration of: Co-op for Credit

Question from ACE Survey: Which of the following would have furthermore persuaded you or your friends to participate in the co-op program?

2008/9 ACE Research Survey results indicate that the #1 item that would have increased their participation was co-op for credit.

61% over 1700) respondents from across BC agreed that this was the biggest issue – 50% greater than the #2 issue which was “ending on a work term”.

ACE Survey Questions (cont’d)

Response Frequency Count

Credit toward academic degree requirement 61.3% 1713

Work terms in the summer only 17.3% 484

Fewer number of required work terms 26.5% 739

Increased number of required work terms 5.7% 160

Shorter work terms 10.3% 289

The option to end on a work term 39.6% 1105

The ability to complete a work term earlier in the program 25.5% 713

Other (please specify) 6.7% 188

Valid Responses 2793

Total Responses 2793

Which of the following would have furthermore persuaded you or your friends to participate in the co-op program?

Feedback from SFU Fall 2009 Survey

Experiential Learning:(5,896 undergraduate students respondents)

o Students expressed interest in participating in experiential learning at SFU, if they could get credits towards their degree requirements (90% very/somewhat interested in co-op,85% in work-study, and 77% in research assistanceships.)

o Assistance with associated costs and smooth integration into academic programs would also increase students’ likelihood of participating.

Feedback from SFU Fall 2009 Survey

Do you think that the following examples of "learning through experience" have an educational value that deserves academic credits that count towards your degree requirements (in addition to credits for any related coursework)?

Co-op 87.1% Practicum/internship (linked to a course) 85.3% Research assistanceship 80.5% International exchange 79.7% Work-study 76.3% Field school 72.9% Community-based learning (linked to a course) 71.7% Field trips 57.4%

Feedback from SFU Fall 2009 Survey

If you could get credits that counted towards your degree requirements (ignoring tuition costs), how interested would you be in participating in the following types of "learning through experience" at SFU?

Co-op 89.6%Work-study 85.5%Research assistanceship 76.7

Feedback from SFU Fall 2009 Survey

Which of the following would make you more likely to participate in "learning through experience" (co-op, field school, etc.) at SFU? (Please check all that apply)

Getting extra credits towards your degree 4,731 (81.3%) Assistance with related costs (travel, cost of living, etc.) 4,469

(76.8%) Assistance with tuition needed to participate 4,366 (75.0%) Smooth integration into your program (i.e. - if the experience

wouldn't extend your degree completion time) 4,044 (69.5%) Ability to end your degree on a co-op term or other "experiential

learning" term 3,535 (60.7%) More relocation support (help finding lodgings, etc.) 2,770 (47.6%)

Feedback from SFU Fall 2009 Survey

Students should be required to participate in "experiential learning" (co-op,field school, exchange, internship, etc.) at least once in their degree.

55% agree or strongly agree

10% strongly disagree

WatCACE Survey re. Academic credit for Co-op

Conducted by Rowe and Lumsden in 2008, a survey was sent to Canadian Universities – via the CAFCE list

Areas surveyed: definition, approval, additive/substitutive, components, granting of credit, grading systems, treatment of failure, admissions, soft skills.

Rationale for granting/not granting credit

WatCACE Survey re. Academic credit for Co-op

Response data59 surveys sent / 35 responses (59%)

Profile of InstitutionsGood mixture of small, medium, large institutionsWhen co-op started: 50’s/1, 60’s/3, 70’s/6, 80’s/12,

90’s/8, 00’s/217 award credit (49%) / 18 (51%) do not award, one

institution changing policyOf those that do,12 (71%0 provide additive credit; 5

(29%) provide substitutive or integral credit (all 5 are smaller institutions/programs)

WatCACE Survey re. Academic credit for Co-op: Decision to Award CreditPrimary reasons to award

Recognition that learning occurs on work term (14)Work term learning is equivalent to academic course (10) Government funding received (9)

OtherStudents can receive scholarships on the work term Institutional trend in experiential learningAttraction for students to stay in co-opEnhances value of the work term

WatCACE Survey re. Academic credit for Co-op: Decision to NOT Award Credit

Was it considered?Yes – 7, No - 14

Reasons:Not pedagogically soundCo-op instituted too quicklyCo-op seen as job placementLimited resources

Future plansWithin a year 2Within next 5 years 4Not in foreseeable future 12

So, bringing the research together…

ACE survey (2008/9) says 61% of respondents (over 1700) state the recognition of co-op for credit is the #1 item that would have further persuaded them or their friends to participate in co-op.

SFU survey (2009) says 81 - 90% of students would take co-op if they received (integral) credit for it.

Lumsden/Rowe (2008) survey indicates that about 50% of institutions that responded do provide credit and 50% do not. Of those that do, about 70% provide additive credit.

What Might this all Mean?

What, if any, practice and/or policy implications does this data indicate?

Is the credit issue critical to co-op student recruitment and retention?

What potential implications might there be regarding the co-op curriculum and assessment?

How might this impact the academic programs?What are the potential institutional gains/losses:? Is this a lobby we want to undertake/ If so, is it a

collective activity?

In Depth Discussion: Co-op Recruitment

When we asked students to indicate how they found out about their institution’s co-op program, the top five noted were:• 1. Friends

• 2. Website

• 3. Email from an institution

• 4. Institutional recruiter

• 5. Professor

In Depth Discussion: Co-op Recruitment

In Depth Discussion: Co-op Recruitment

Ninety nine students responded

There were four main categories of response

FamilyCo-op Coordinator's presentationCareer Fairs/Info SessionsMarketing Materials

In Depth Discussion: Co-op Recruitment - Sisters

Of the 23 who we clustered under family the largest portion was sisters

Co-op Recruitment and Girl Power

We found that sisters are a significant source for information on co-op and a motivation for participation

“My sister was an alumni from SFU approximately seven years ago. Because she is older than me an she attended SFU when I was in high school, I’ve always aspired to get into the co-op program”

So What Might this Finding Mean?

What might be some implications for marketing our programs?

How can girl power be leveraged?What is unique about this demographic?How do we better target men?What further information would be good to know?

In Depth Discussion : Student Engagement

We asked the students four questions about how their work term related to their classroom studies

For the most part the respondents indicated that the classroom experience was enhanced by their work term

Student Engagement: My work term helped me…

Student Engagement

Students were given the chance to give additional comments after each question

We analyzed the comments from question 23 which asked students to rate how their work term affected their classroom engagement

We grouped the 112 responses into five categories:

Student Engagement

1.Classroom not teaching real world skills (44%)

2. My work term helped theories in the classroom make sense (24%)

3. Jobs not linked to any course work (17%)

4. Skills learned are valuable but not directly relevant (10%)

5. I observed that the workplace has a different learning style (5%)

Student Engagement

Student Engagement

“Consulting engineering work is almost nothing like the engineering coursework. Engineering coursework is far too concerned with digital systems and theory”

“As cliché as it sounds, the “real” world is different from what you learn in the classroom. Office politics and dealing with angry customers is not some thing you can learn from text books”

So What Might this Finding Mean?

Are there any implications from this finding with respect to how you talk about your program – the language and rhetoric used?

Does co-op help connect the world of school to the world of work? If so, how?

What does this finding suggest needs to be worked on by co-op, and how can that be done?

How else has this data been utilized?

Other Applications:

Employer persuasion (Mining)

Academic persuasion (Career Services; IRP)

Application for co-op for credit (TRU)

THANKS! For More Information…

Copies of the original research presentation is posted on the ACE web site:

www.co-op.bc.ca/

For further information regarding this research project please contact Norah McRae, Chair, ACE Research Committee at nmcrae@uvic.ca