cooperative education edited by

GEOFFREY DAVIES ALAN L. MCCLELLAND

Cooperative Education at Concordia College

E. Daniel McKenna Concordia College. Moorhead. MN 56562

Fifteen years! It seemssuch a short time ago. Yet, 15 years is a sienificant lenah of time-from that summer of 1975 when the first coop&ative education students were placed to now when the norm is to place more than 200 students per year.

The cooperative education program at Concordia College1 was carefully planned from the beginning. It developed as a result of a yearlong study of 1973-1974 by a task force ap- pointed by the academic dean, now president of Concordia College.

In November 1974 the Faculty Senate adopted the com- mittee's recommendations and a formalized program was approved.

During the developmental stages of the program, the col- lege was assisted by a grant from the Hill Family Founda- tion. This grant was followed by five years (19751980) of grants from the US. Department of Education for the growth and expansion of the program. The program has also benefited from supplemental grants (1981-1989) from the US. Department of Education for promotion of the program and for faculty and staff development. Also, a grant from the American Chemical Society was awarded in 1982 for the promotion of cooperative education in chemistry.

Program Growth During the first summer of the formalized program, five

academic departments placed students-biology, economics and business administration, English, home economics, and political science. The departments of library science, reli- gion, education, and speech communication and theatre art placed students in 1975-1976. Five more departments-art, environmental studies, mathematics, sociology, and Span- ish-became involved in 1976-1977, followed by chemistry, classics, and psychology in 1977-1978.

The program continued togrow with the first involvement by business education and physical education in 1978-1979. The following year, computer science, earth science, history, philosophy, and physics placed their first students, followed in 1981-1982 by the German department, in 1986-1987 by Scandinavian studies, and in 1987-1988 by the newly devel- oped nursing program. -Faculty ~ " ~ ~ o ~ t for our program has heen excellent over

the years. Since our program began, 150 faculty have sewed as coordinators, of which 105 are current faculty.

Through the years we have had more than 740 employers

' Concordia College, founded in 1891 by Norwegian Lutheran im migrants, is a llberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is situated in a metropolitan, bistate (Fargo, ND, and Moorhead. MN) area of 120,000 population noted for its cultural. educational, and medical resources. The college's enrollment of 2.900 comes from more than 40 states and 15 foreign countries.

work with our students. Manv of these emolovers have had only one placement, e.g., hometown husinessei that employ a student for the summer. There are, however, manv em- ployers who work with our students on an ongoing ha&.

The program grew slowly hut experienced a steady growth, reaching levels of more than 200 placements begin- ning with the fifth year. The placements are now at a point where nearly one-third of each year's graduates have had one or more work experiences.

Professional Involvement Program staff and faculty have been active in professional

cooperative education associations on state, regional, and national levels. They have sewed as members, committee chairs. directors and officers.

~ e a d e r s h i ~ for the formation of the Minnesota Coopera- tive Education Association (MnCEA) was orovided hv Con- cordia staff and faculty, and various oftic& have heen held by them. Later, Concordia personnel were influential as Minnesota joined with North Dakota and South Dakota to form the MinnKota Cooperative Education Association.

Concordia has also provided leadership for the Midwest Cooperative Education Association (MCEA) through active participation of administrators and faculty in the 1982 con- ference held in Minneapolis and on the Board of Governors throueh the vears. The director of the oroeram was treasurer in 19k-1986 and served as in 587-1988,

Concordia Colleee was the host site for the 1984 MnCEA conference and hosted regional workshops in 1984, 1988, 1989, and again in 1990. At these functions, Concordia was well represented on the programs.

Recognltlon Concordia's Cooperative Education program has been ac-

corded regional, national, and international recognition. Internal evaluations, conducted over several years, and

the study on the goals of Concordia's Cooperative Education program have resulted in numerous presentations and publi- cations in this country and in Australia, Scotland, and the Netherlands. Papers on other cooperative education topics have also been oresented and oublished bv Concordia facul- ty and adminisirators.

In 1980 the program in chemistry was recognized as a model developmental program by the American Chemical Society. The recognition resulted in the grant, cited above, and participation of the director and two chemistry faculty memhers at ACS-sponsored workshops and conferences.

The Program in Chemlrtry As noted above, the chemistry department, which is ac-

credited hy the American Chemical Society, became in- volved in the program in the winter of 1978. Since then, nearly 60 students have earned cooperative education credit

Volume 67 Number 4 April 1990 323

in chemistry. While this numher appears to he small, i t is not when compared to the average numher of chemistry gradu- ates ner vear. Also, manv of these maduates are double majois inbiology &d some have earned cooperative educa- tion credit in that department. If these douhle maiors are included, the numbe; of chemistry majors who have had coooerative education exoeriences increases by several each year.

The amount of credit for each work experience depends on the amount of time worked, the numher of work periods, and the type of major (regular or AC'SJ. The cooperative educa- tion ;roeram has set a minimum of 90 h for 0.5 course credit and i80X for 1.0 course credit. (Concordia College is on the course olan with each course eauivalent to 4 semester hour credits:) In chemistry, ACS majbrs may earn only 1.0 course credit in coooerative education due to a 10-course limit in the major alfowahle toward graduation. Regular chemistry majors may earn up to 2.0 courses credit in cooperative education, which is the maximum allowed toward gradua- tion.

The students in chemistry (as in other majors) are em- ployed in a variety of modes:

1. Alternating (full-time) 2. Parallel (part-time) 3. Single terms of 4-8 months (full- or part-time) 4. Combination of full-time and pardel

Full-time alternating students generally work a summer plus another semester during a school year (e.g., summer of 1989 and winter of 1990 or fall of 1989 and summer of 1990). Students may also alternate with both work periods during academic years (e.g.. winter of 1990 and fall of 1990). hut this mav delav eraduation. Parallel students often work full-time in a sum&& that precedes or follows a semester of part-time work. Students may also elect a summer-only work experi- ence.

Locally, Concordia chemistry students have been placed in a quality control lahoratory of a large national firm and two USDA Laboratories. Outside the local area they have been placed in government lahoratories in Montana and Washineton. DC, and laree chemical firms in Minnesota. - . New Jersey, and Canada. Some have been placed in intern: shipslexternships in health facilities.

The experiences of the students vary depending on the work site. They may he involved in wet chemistry or instru- mental analysis, quality control, or basic research, and func- tion as chemists or chemical engineers. Concordia chemistry students have had exoeriences in oreanic svnthesis. materi- als studies, testing o i physical propkties,and ext'ractions. Thev have exoerienced such instruments as eas and liouid chromato~aph, hi~h-pressure liquid chromatograph. mass soectrosconv. liouid scintillation. infrared and ultraviolet. - A d tracer studies. The above sampling of work areas ard used by the students whether in methods development for quality assurance, as an integral part of a basic research problem, or in product development.

The students are required to submit a written report on the work and quite often give oral reports. Occasionally, a student is listed as coauthor in a puhlication that results from the research. Permanent job offers in the same firm that emnloved the students in coooerative education mav occur, &d this is also true for ourbrogram. We also ha& Concordia Coonerative Education alumni servina as site su- pervisors; two-of them are former chemistry cooperative education students.

Job sites are developed in a variety of ways. Students may have their own leads, faculty mav make referrals, coopera- tive education staff &ay make contact by telephone or on- site visits, or employers may contact the institutions direct- ly. Many leads develop through travel of administrators and faculty to conferences and other meetings. Alumni are also sources of referrals.

There are specific henefits to the chemistry cooperative education students beyond salary, potential for permanent employment and the possibility of puhlication. These in- clude:

(1) Students may determine their aptitude and interest in lab- oratory work and chemistry ss a career.

(2) Employer supervisors may adviselrecommendlencaurage students regarding graduate school.

(3) Students have opportunities to work with instrumentation not available on colleee camouses.

(4) Student% may learn about course deficiencies in chemistry or other academic arena.

( 5 ) Studentsenjoy an opponunify to travel.

While the advantages to students are many, there are some inhibitors to large-scale cooperative education pro- grams in chemistry in small colleges (and perhaps large ones). They include:

1. Students must plan their work sequences around certain courses since only one section of each may be offered each year.

2. Many students do not want or are unable to be away from campus.

3. Most students wish to graduate in four years. 4. Financial aids (scholarships, grants, andlor work study) may

be affected.

Programs In Other SclcMees The cooperative education program in hiology is second

onlv to that in economicslhusiness administration in terms ~~. of placements, with over 500 studenta placed since the pro- eram beean. This laree numher isdue orincioallv tostudents . . placed in the health professions pro&am.

Over the years, many biology students have worked in the Minnesota state parks on the interpretive staff. Several of these students are now employed hy the park system or in related agencies. One of them has served as a s i c supervisor for cooperative education students. Other biology students have been placed in governmental lahoratories and agencies, locally and elsewhere in research positions. Some of these students have also been hired hy their cooperative education employer.

The program in physics is small with only Four students placed since the fall of 1979. One of these students had two semesters of work experience, while another was employed for three semesters. Two of the students were placed in smaller firms, one with a large international firm and the other with a government research lahoratory.

The specific henefits for students in hiology and physics as well as the inhibitors are the same as for chemistry students. Job development, as for chemistry, is multifaceted.

Conclusion Concordia's program is different than many in that we

place internslexterns and cooperative education students through the same central office. As expected, many interns are unsalaried and thus do not qualify under the usual defi- nition of cooperative education. The interns and cooperative education students are treated in the same manner-all have faculty coordinators who assist in the development of a set of learning objectives. All students receive letter grades for the exoerience.

The go& are the same for all placements-to offer stu- dents oonortunities for career exoloration. In the lone run it is not thk nature, hut rather th;significance of the experi- ence that matters.

Everyone henefits! The henefits to the students are many and have been cited. The emoloyers henefit from the ser- vices provided by the students and the cost effectiveness of recruiting permanent employers. Faculty henefit through interaction with professionals outside the institution. And finally, society itself is the heneficiary of this partnership between academia and the world of work.

324 Journal of Chemical Education