cooperative education
Edited by GEOFFREY DAVIES ALAN L. MCCLELLAND
A USOE-Funded Project: Montclair State College's Success Story Fredya Lazarus Director of Cooperative Education Montclair State College. Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
In 1982, Montclair State College made an exciting and terrifying promise. If the Department of Education would grant us what seemed like a staggering amount of money, we would create-in three vears-a model coonerative education program. One that would place 600 students yearly. One that would use a custom-designed, state-of-the-art computer system, sophisticated marketing techniques and a whole new system for managing the office and servicing students. We promised we would integrate the program into the very marrow of the college. Beyond that,~. we promised to disseminate the lessons learned to other co-op schools, so that they would not have to reinvent the wheel. Vision-someone once said-is the ability to perceive what can he. Were we visionary! And were we naive! Even so, we found ourselves entrusted with $727,000 of federal money to make it all happen. And here we are in 1986. The dollars have been spent. What has happened? How well have we measured up? During the 1984185 academic year, we did achieve the nlacement of 600 students. We recruited students through ;be mails, at orientations, through the college catalog and brochures, throurh admissions office staff and referral8 from academic counseiors, through interest surveys, campus bulletin boards, meetings, and co-op days. We prepared our students for interviews and counseled them about career objectives, academic requirements, financial aid, and resumes. We hired graduate students as key staff members, considered them professionals, and required their participation in our weekly in-service training sessions. And our employers. We started with 181 and ended with 392. Where did they come from? Some-who are especially precious to us-were with us almost from the beginning. They were also visionaries. Others were hard won, through personalized direct mail, special events, public relations, and, most of all, the tenacious, concientious work of our team of co-on coordinators and facultv. Our emolover list mew. ~ a c u l t ; and staff worked togethkr to mat& studentswith emolover needs while continuouslv maintaining- a ~.r o f e s sio~al;elatiouship with the collegeand the program. Our computer system is a reality now. I t fell far behind schedule as we strove to make it do what we needed it to do, as we strove for excellence. But it is here now. Storing and analvzinn data. Pumnina out letters. Streamlining everv - aspectof data management for cooperative education. Integration of co-op into college life? That's been achieved, too. Not completely, of course, but to an extent we could hardly have hoped for three years ago. And, while it 618
Journal of Chemical Education
required meetings and studies and committees and lunches and phone calls, I think we can say that co-op has been woven into the fabric of Montclair State. We have shared our progress with the co-op community. Articles have been published. We made a concept video, spoke and presented portions of our story a t professional conferences and seminars, both in the U.S. and abroad. Expenditures that were previously covered by the grant are now covered by the college. Classroom dialog has been enriched by faculty and students who have observed, first-hand, the latest in business practices, techniques, and equipment out in the field. As the National Advertising Council program begins to take effect, we foresee an even greater role for cooperative education in recruiting high-quality students to Montclair State. A major contributor to this success story has been our facultv. A kev member of the MSC co-ODteam is Al Zabadv. chemistry ~ k ~ a r t m eCoordinator. nt over the last 10 he has single-handedly recruited students, contacted alumni for placement opportunities, and maintained quality relationships with corporate supervisors. T o honor his contrihutions, Montclair State awarded him the Outstanding Faculty Award for 1985. His enthusiasm, humor, and pride in his students has added to Montclair's reputation for quality. This type of commitment is evident a t Montclair. Our success .&ory is the result of faculty and staff, such as Al Zabady, that care. In September, I had the privilege of representing Montclair State a t the International Co-op Conference in Edinhureh. Scotland. This trip was one of the hiehliehts of mv proTesiiona~career. I t was wonderful t o speak proudly of Montclair, show our video, and have representatives from schools in France, New Zealand, and Australia seeking to set up international Co-op exchange programs with Montclair. The theme of the conference was "Positive Partnerships" and this message is the embodiment of our positive Dartnership a t ~ o n t c l a i r . All that is glowinp. Wonderful. Exciting. And an achievement to he proud of. But there is no such thing as the status quo. The federal money is gone, and it is time for reflection on what we have built and measure the intensity of our commitment to what we have achieved. Then, we must apply that same creativitv. that same vision. that same dedication that has brought u;so far. Apply all that to the difficult task before us. T o h e l Coooerarive ~ Kducation-with all its benefits to students, school, business, and the community-contiuue to grow in aualitv . . and services. I am confident that we will succeed. u
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