Academic Involvement edited by: GeoffreyDavies and Alan L. McClelland This month's column is concerned with the academic side of providing cooperative educational opportunities for students in chemistry. We have gatheied information on three well-established undereraduate oroerams (Drexel. Rochester Institute of . ~ e c h n o l and o ~ ~ niversit~~ o ef n k e s s e ea t Knoxville), and a new endeavor a t the Masters level (Indiana UniversitvPurdue University at indianapuli?;~. Although all the propams have a common coal, they diifer sienificantlv in detail. All three undergraduate owpemrivr programs are found at schools operating on a quarter (i.e., 11-weekterm) schedule. All are formal, 5-year progrdms; Drexcl requires I8 months of outside work experience ior graduation, hut co-op at the other svhwls is optional.'l'wu oithe programs (which have a high dcgreeof student involvement) are managed bga special Uni\.er*ity Coqwrdtive Education Division, but smaller student groups can he well managed by a committed chemistry deoiutment. as at Tennessee. I)r. Shirlev feels that roooerative programs are feasible on a semester schedule, and that the burden of dunlicatine courses can he relieved bv " uuoerclass .. pooling the resources of several schools in a district. The MS Industrial Chemistry Co-op Program a t Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis will be one of very few cooperative programs in chemistry at the graduate level, and may do something to improve the image of the MS in chemistrv.l I t seems appropriate to administer such programs within a chemistr$department itself, rather than-in a separate university unit (e.g., a Co-op Division). Frequent contact with student participants a t IUPUI should be beneficial to all concerned. The comments which follow are those of faculty who are committed to career education through cooperative education and show what can he done to helo students oreoare for their future careers. We applaud theseefforts an2 look forward to hearine of new academic initiatives in coouerative education in chemistry.
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Drexel University
J a c k G. Kay Department of Chemistry The program of cooperative education was initiated a t Drexel in 1919 for students in engineering. After 60 years of continuous operation, this program has been extended to include over 95% of all students in Drexel's five undergraduate colleges. During the past year, more than 3,000 Drexel students were placed in study-related jobs with more than 1,000 cooperating employers located in 28 states and foreign countries. A kev comoonent of the Drexel Plan for Coouerative Education in chenlisrry is mandatory participation. A second distinrmishine.feature is theG months ttwoacademicauartt.rri) emplo~mentberiodalternating with 6 months on campus. 1; order to qualify for graduation, each student must complete 18 months in industry during the five-year B.S. degree program. The first co-op period begins during the sophomore year and the last is completed prior to the senior year. Thus, during the middle years (sophomore, pre-junior, and junior) half of each class is on campus during the winter and spring and the other half is on campus during the summer and fall. This arrangement is good for employers because they can budget for one co-op position for a full year and accommodate
two students workine 6 months at a time. For the student. a fi month rmplugment period provides time to uvercome an initial adiusrmrnt neriod and reallvsettle intothe ioh. On the other hand, after imonths away flom the books, I;lot of students may need to review previous classroom work before resuming their studies on campus. Ordinarily, students are expected to concentrate on their jobs and not take courses while in industry. Students on co-op are paid competitive salaries. Each student negotiates his salary directly with the employer. The Cooperative Education Coordinator matches the student to the job, but the student is free to turn a job down or, even, to find a different job subject to approval by the Coordinator. The Coordinator must he familiar with the various employers and types of positions and must know and understand kach student'sabilitiks and interests. After a co-op period, the Coordinator reviews the student's report of the work experience and the employer's evaluation bf the student's performance. A student often will return to the same employer during subsequent periods; but only if this is mutually agreeable. Some students like the idea of trying different employers in order to broaden their experiences. Many studeints are offered permanent positions with their co-op employers after graduations Our experience shows that chemistry students in the Drexel program twicallv are more mature. more confident about their goa1s;ind more serious about their profession as they approach maduation. Thev have had a chance to find out what employm&t as a chemistis like, and they would not have remained as chemistry majors if they had not been satisfied. They have a mature basis on which to decide between employment and a graduate or professional school after graduation. Whether they go into industry or whether they enter a strong graduate program in chemistry, these students are able to enter a laboratory and become productive without requiring several months for adjustment to the new situation. The value of cooperative education as an integral part of a straong academic program in chemistry is undeniable as far as Drexel University is concerned. The faculty and administration are fully committed to continuing the co-op plan in the sciences, engineering, and other technical areas, where it has been shown to be effective in improvine the aualitv . . of education.
Rochester Institute of Technology Y. Stephen Yamamoto College of Science Co-op a t RIT is almost as old as the concept itself, having been initiated in 1912 while the school was still called Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute. It has now evolved into an integral part of the career decision making process. Co-op is viewed as more than just a vehicle to bring the cost of an education a t a private college in line with one at a state school. for it also offers the uniaue . on~ortunitvof viewine an actual work environment from the inside while one is still in a formative staee of career develoument. This nrocess occurs at a critical juncture in the student's life and often serves to reinforce or even cause a re-evaluation of career goals. .A
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Worthy, W., Chem. and Eng. News, Nov. 12,1979, p. 33. Volume 57, Number 6, June 1980 1 439
