• Co-op students historically perform better since employer evaluation documents form part of the university’s degree requirements.
• Co-op is available every semester, for multiple semesters, not just in the summer or as a one-time experience.
• Co-op students attend an optional professional development course before their first employment experience.
• Co-op students are required to write reports describing each co-op experience, which may be of value to the employer.
• Co-op students are considered full-time students while employed full-time and are governed by policies and procedures established by the university.

• A job description should be created for each Co-op employment session, and each co-op session should be progressively more complex for returning students. The main purposes for co-op job descriptions are to develop guidelines, avoid incorrect assumptions, and encourage productivity.
• Special care should be devoted to setting salaries for Co-op students. The first session salary should be as high as possible to attract quality applicants; however, leave room to increase wages commensurate with job description and responsibilities developed for subsequent Co-op employment periods. While determining salaries, employers should remember Co-op graduates nationwide historically begin at a higher salary than non-experienced graduates.
• Select and develop skilled work supervisors. These people are critical and essential components of a successful Co-op partnership. A Co-op student should receive guidance and feedback at regular intervals to ensure that the individual is working to the employer’s expectations.
• Handle fringe benefits in the same manner as for other temporary full-time employees. Determine policies for paid holidays, accrued seniority during Co-op sessions, travel expenses, and relocation and short term housing assistance.
• Work closely with the Co-op Advisor. Besides being your campus contact, it is customary for the Co-op Advisor to visit you periodically to discuss student performance, developing and maintaining quality co-op opportunities, and other pertinent Co-op matters.

• Lower labor costs: Fringe benefits often consume 25 to 35 percent of personnel costs. These costs can be minimized by utilizing Co-op students in appropriate positions.
• Improved employee retention and lower recruitment costs: When hired after graduation, co-op students generally remain with initial employers longer than traditional new hires. Job expectations of co-op students are more realistic because of exposure to the real work environment. A survey of 250 companies by University of Cincinnati and Mead Corporation revealed “The median organization in the report shows Co-ops to be 73% more cost effective over the first 21 months of full-time employment, saving more than $24,000 per graduate Co-op hire.” Knowledge gained by Co-op students during their work assignments enable them to begin at a higher level of responsibility and productivity than inexperienced graduates.
• A source of innovation: Frequently, because of their professional innocence, Co-ops bring enthusiasm, perspectives and suggestions that lead to significant contributions to the employer’s ongoing missions.
• An opportunity to become involved with Florida Institute of Technology in the educational process: The interaction between the university and employer can lead to consulting opportunities, collaborative research projects, course development and training. In general, an opportunity exists for building good public relations for mutual benefit and making a significant contribution to the Co-op student’s education.

Offer Of Employment

• Co-op students presented with an offer of employment must receive an official offer letter each semester they are working. Once the offer letter is obtained, the student must contact the Co-op Advisor in Career Services to begin enrollment procedures.
• International students will need to apply for CPT.  They may not begin to work off campus before receiving CPT authorization and completing the registration process with the University.
  • Once the student has all the necessary signatures, they return to the Co-op Advisor to be properly registered with the University. A course syllabus is used to inform the students about the course requirements. 

Co-Op Credits And Registration Deadlines

• Undergraduate students are awarded 1-3 credits based on the total number of hours worked each week (based on the offer letter).  There is no credit awarded for graduate students.  The University cannot award credit retroactively, nor can we enroll students after the deadlines set by the Office of the Registrar. 
• Co-op at Florida Tech is tied to academic semesters
  • Fall (16 weeks, early August through early December)
  • Spring (16 weeks, mid-January through end of April)
  • Summer (11 weeks, mid-May through end of July) 
• Students are allowed to work full time or part time any semester, for a single semester, or back-to-back semesters. Students maintain their full-time student status in Fall and Spring by working full-time.  Students can continue to work for local companies part-time (under 20 hours) throughout the school year when their schedules permit.

Grading

• The student must submit all assignments to the Co-op Advisor.  Those are then sent to the Academic Advisor of record, who recommends a Pass/Fail grade.  We request that both students and employers meet all University established deadlines as the student’s grade issuance is gated by their timely submission of all assignments.

Work Place Issues

• Occasionally, there may be an issue between an employer and a student.  Both parties are encouraged to work through any difficulties as soon as they arise.  Career Services should be notified of any issues that arise as soon as possible.  The Co-op Advisor can be reached at (321) 674-8102 or career@fit.edu