Cooperative education helps students beef up their résumés and earn some money during college: two welcome prospects in tight economic times. But it also means that college doesn’t provide the usual escape from the realities of the job market. After all, students can’t get laid off from English 101.
About 100 colleges in the United States offer co-op programs, in which students intersperse periods of work with on-campus instruction. The jobs are paid, but students also get academic credit for the work. So they are expected to apply in their jobs what they have learned in previous courses, and to bring insights from the workplace to the classroom.
That model can give co-op students advantages when they look for full-time jobs after graduation. But while they are still in college, the economy touches them more directly than it does most other students.
“Anything that affects the job market affects the co-op program,” says Darnice R. Langford, an associate professor of professional practice at the University of Cincinnati.
This quarter at Cincinnati, a couple of students were laid off from their jobs and weren’t able to find new ones. In other cases, faculty members have had to work particularly hard to keep employers in the program.
Still, students in some fields, including digital design and some kinds of engineering, continue to be in high demand. And some companies that have laid off full-time employees are eyeing co-op students as a cheaper alternative.
Sinead K. O’Neal, manager of the division of product development and alliances at Delta Cargo, began taking student workers through the university’s program after the company, a part of Delta Air Lines, went through layoffs a few years ago. The students give her division a more elastic work force. That flexibility, she says, is particularly important now.
If money gets really tight, though, Ms. O’Neal says, she may not be able to take any students at all.
Exploring Careers
Cincinnati is one of a small number of colleges, including Drexel University and the Rochester Institute of Technology, that have woven their co-op programs through the whole fabric of the institution. Students take their first jobs as early as sophomore year and go on to fill several positions. They may work their way up at one company or switch from one employer to another. The co-op programs often extend the time a student is enrolled but don’t add to the cost of college, because students don’t pay tuition when they are on the job.
A decent number of graduates of co-op programs land jobs after graduation with one of their previous employers. That is still largely true even in an economic downturn, says Tom Newbold, an associate professor in the division of professional practice at Cincinnati.
“I think they have a real advantage,” he says. “But it’s going to be tight.”
When Kaylee Wiechman was choosing a college, Cincinnati’s co-op program was a big selling point.
Now in her fourth year, she recently landed a textile-design job with JC Penney. It will provide her with housing, use of a car, and travel to and from the workplace, in Dallas — perks that will help her save up for studying abroad this summer in Dubai.
The experience, which will be Ms. Wiechman’s fourth co-op, should also help her find a postcollege job. “Once I graduate,” she says, “I’ll be ahead of everyone else.”
Being ahead may be particularly important now. Companies expect to hire 8 percent fewer new graduates in 2009 than last year, according to a report released in November by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, at Michigan State University.
Grant Geiger, who is in his third year at Drexel, doesn’t have to enter the market this spring, but he is already wondering how the downturn will affect him when he does.
Mr. Geiger, who is studying business administration with concentrations in finance and international business, took a marketing position with the Siemens Corporation for his first co-op, partly because he wanted to use his German-language skills.
Now he is looking to focus directly on finance in his next co-op. “Wall Street doesn’t look too promising,” he says. But he still wants to work in finance and hopes a related co-op experience will make his résumé stand out.
Co-op programs may also become more attractive to companies looking to invest in their future work force without the risk or expense of full-time new hires. Students bring fresh perspectives and knowledge of new trends gleaned in the classroom. They are also a bargain: Co-op students earn less than full-time staff members and get no benefits.
Beth Ann Herrin, a Cincinnati graduate, has hired co-op students from her alma mater at several of her past jobs. Now she has started her own company, Realityplus Clothing Company LLC, and hopes to employ several co-op students. She calls the program a “low-cost way to get qualified talent without a long-term commitment.”
For larger companies, the student workers also enter a pipeline for two or three years in the future, when hiring may well pick up again. When the time comes to make an offer, the company will already be familiar with their work.
“It’s like spring training in baseball,” says Mr. Newbold, the Cincinnati professor. “You get to try them out, but there’s no penalty if it doesn’t work out.”
But for colleges offering such programs, a weak economy certainly brings challenges. Some companies that are experiencing layoffs or other financial difficulties have been unable to bring in or retain co-op students. Mr. Newbold, who has placed Cincinnati co-op students for more than 17 years, says that this year, for the first time, two students were laid off and he was not able to find them new jobs right away. The university has given those students administrative waivers for the term — amounting to grades of incomplete — so they won’t fail for not fulfilling the co-op requirement.
“It was just bad timing,” Mr. Newbold says. “If it had happened a month earlier, I probably wouldn’t have had a problem getting them a job.”
At Drexel, four students out of more than 2,000 at work in the co-op program have been laid off. That’s a small number, says Peter J. Franks, associate vice provost and executive director of the career-development center, but “in better economic times, it would be zero.” The university has worked with the students to help them find new jobs, and he doesn’t think the problem will become widespread.
Rochester hasn’t had any students laid off yet, but the institute is prepared for it, says Manny Contomanolis, associate vice president and director of co-op and career services. “We’re not really seeing that yet, but do I anticipate it? Yep.”
Maintaining Ties
Faculty and staff members working to place students in jobs for future terms know they have their work cut out for them.
“When the economy goes down, we have to compensate by working harder,” says Cheryl L. Cates, associate director of professional practice at Cincinnati. The 20 or so members of her staff are struggling to hold on to slots with employers already participating in the co-op program, although the situation varies by industry.
Cynthia Lockhart, an associate professor of professional practice at Cincinnati, places students in fashion co-ops. Because of the economic situation, she invited prospective employers to the campus several weeks earlier than she had in previous years. And she has been in frequent communication with businesses that typically take on her students.
“You have to be on the pulse of the companies to know what’s going on,” Ms. Lockhart says. “Developing strong partnerships with employers is always a given. It’s just in times like these, there’s more of a need for strong communication.”
Much depends on simply maintaining ties with companies that take on students year after year. After all, it is easier to retain an employer than to find a new one. “Your corporate partners, they may contract a bit, but they’re pretty much going to stick with you,” says Mr. Contomanolis, of the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Part of the challenge is knowing how the same dynamics could lead companies to make very different choices. Some companies that have had layoffs take more co-op students to make up the difference, while others have across-the-board hiring freezes that include students. Crucial to successful co-op placement is having a good strategy. “There’s always some company or industry that will do well while others are failing,” says Cincinnati’s Ms. Langford.
Faculty members at Cincinnati have intensified their communication with students, too, making sure they understand that what happens in the job market is likely to affect them. “When the job market gets tight, part of our responsibility is to tell them what’s out there,” Ms. Langford says.
Those talks are taking place on other co-op campuses, too. The goal is to help students “recalibrate expectations,” says Mr. Contomanolis. For example, he would tell a student intent on working at Goldman Sachs that it might be time to consider other options. Students should be prepared to work harder, start sooner, and wait longer to find a placement, he says. And, with fewer options, they should be flexible.
Depending on a student’s situation, some professors suggest staying with the same company for an additional co-op rotation rather than switching, Ms. Lockhart says. Companies that have invested time and training in students are more likely to fight to keep them on.
http://chronicle.com Section: Students Volume 55, Issue 15, Page A18
