by Felicia Fonseca
Daily Lobo
On graduation day, there can be a degree in one hand, work experience in the other and a foot in the door with local and even international companies.
At UNM, the Cooperative Education Program provides students with paid, study-related employment throughout a semester. It is a credit/no credit program where students gain knowledge in the work field as well as in academics.
Employers such as NASA, Phillips Semi-conductors, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories and some federal agencies use co-op as a training program. Upon receiving their degrees, students can then be hired as regular employees for these companies.
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Markus Fraund, a co-op and marketing student at UNM, has been involved with the program for two semesters. He works as a market researcher for UNM Career Services.
"It is a hands-on experience that really counts," Fraund said. "I hope more people would do it."
Fraund works part-time while attending class. With skills from professors that he has learned in class, he has recently designed and distributed flyers, surveys, posters and ads for this year's Career Expo.
The process is easy. Students register with co-op, find a job and go to work. Career development facilitators at UNM Career Services help with writing rÇsumÇs and locating employers for their students.
To register for the program, students need to have completed 26 hours of undergraduate credit, be enrolled full-time in a degree granting program with good academic standing, have a 2.5 GPA and show signs of significant progress towards a degree at UNM.
Once registered, students need to register for the 105 co-op work phase and complete 360 hours of work per semester. The employers start and end dates comply with the UNM academic program calendar. Professionals at the work site must supervise, teach and evaluate the co-op students' progress and performance.
While registered in the program, it is important that students see their advisers from the business school, arts and sciences, engineering or fine arts. If the student is not gaining experience or they change their mind about their degree, an adviser should be informed.
According to Mary Montano, CDF, the program is a tool for students to get work experience while they get an education.
Although she said UNM is not as active as she would like, Leslye Ellison, director of UNM Career Services, is trying to make the program more available to students. Outreach to students is made through in-class presentations, staff tables and job fairs.
The goal of the co-op program is the personal and professional development of the student in the workplace. It follows guidelines established by the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education and has to meet certain requirements.
Co-ops must be paid, a learning agreement must be in place to define the position as a cooperative education work phase experience and must be directly related to the student's career plans.
Most companies pay co-op students competitive salaries. They have separate budgets specifically for the co-op program. If unemployment rises, co-op students would still be able to be hired because management recognizes the program's importance in the overall production of the company.
The most successful co-op programs are those that challenge the student to their capabilities. It is important that the student enjoys their work and have supervisors that motivate and reward their student employees.
"The key to success (in co-op) is the student-UNM-employer partnership," Montano said.
