NABET, NABET 2011

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Evaluating Cooperative Education: Some Recent Research
Lori A. Braunstein, Hideki Takei, Fen Wang, Mark K. Loken, Bradley B. Andrew

Last modified: 2011-09-20

Abstract


This paper reviews some of the recent literature evaluating cooperative education. The evidence points to considerable value added from cooperative education. Gains to employers included lower recruitment costs, better recruitment yield, better retention, lower training and overall employment costs. There is also some evidence that cooperative education improves creativity and innovation. Students experienced gains as well. Subjective evidence, acquired through surveys and focus groups, show that students found their experience valuable in many ways. Objective evidence also supports the value of cooperative education. Students who had a cooperative learning experience tended to have higher GPAs, lower rates of borrowing, better starting salaries and higher employment rates. Students need to be made more aware of these outcomes when deciding whether to pursue a cooperative education experience, and skeptical faculty members should also be made aware of these gains. Clearly the evidence points to a win-win-win situation for students, the institution and employers.


Keywords


Cooperative Education