Co-op positions
Co-op positions are to be professionally-oriented, paid positions related to a student’s career interests. Students need to receive training and supervision by an employing organization. Students need to be considered an employee of that organization (at least on a temporary or part-time basis).
Learning agreements
Every student will be completing a co-op learning agreement for each semester of credit. This document outlines the approved site, course assignments, and credit hour allocation.
Student course assignments
The process by which you (the faculty supervisor) determine the number of credits that a student may register should entail some form of communications between the faculty supervisor and the student who is looking to participate in the co-op program. The issues discussed should include the relevancy of his/her job duties as they relate to the academic area in which the student is seeking to do the co-op; the type of faculty-assigned deliverables such as a log, journal portfolio or report; and the total number of hours that the student might work at the co-op site over the course of the assigned semester. A student is typically eligible to earn one credit for every 50 hours worked; however, this ratio is used as only a guide, as long as the other aforementioned factors are approved. The Faculty Supervisor may vary the numbers of working, on-site hours needed to earn credit when assigning deliverable tasks. This policy is defined in Section VI of Shepherd University’s definition of a credit hour found in the University’s catalog.