Co-op Advantages for You

Find greater meaning in your studies through the alternating pattern of combining practical work experience with classroom theory

Well-chosen training situations provide the student a laboratory in which he or she can test and apply knowledge gained in the classroom. Conversely, academic performance is stimulated by skills learned on the job.

Increase motivation through close coordination of work assignments and study

The student's performance inevitable improves when he or she can identify goals in the classroom with work activities. The practical test of abilities and inclinations also helps the students to decide on career objectives.

Develop communication skills, responsibility, maturity and confidence

It has been well demonstrated that the demands of full-time employment such as punctuality, cooperation, skill, and sound judgment help to develop in the co-op students a greater sense of his/her responsibilities and more confidence in his or her ability to adjust when confronted with various situations.

Gain more than a year of professional work experience before graduation

The Cooperative Education Program helps to orient students to the work-a-day world. Students are concerned about what they will do when they receive their degrees. The co-op program acquaints students with the opportunities available to them and helps them to realize their limitations and potential. The University of Akron's semester system allows the co-op student to spend three periods of approximately four months each in co-op employment.

Earn partial (in some cases total) funds to support your education and command a better starting salary at graduation

A recent study found that co-op students across the country earn as much as $11 to $17 an hour during their co-op work periods, some even more, and almost all of these students help to pay their college costs with these earnings. The advantages of more than a year of relevant work experience are obvious to the student when seeking full-time employment.