COOP 2000 - Cooperative Education

Cooperative education is an elective program that integrates classroom theory with practical experience in your chosen field to better prepare you to begin your career at a more advanced level upon graduation. During this program, you will have specific periods of attendance at the University and specified paid, evaluated, and curriculum-related or career-choice-related periods of employment. You can pursue a cooperative education experience in one of two ways: The alternate option or the parallel option. In the alternate option you attend classes one semester and work the next. The cooperative work may be performed in your hometown or anywhere in the United States where there is a cooperating employer. This is usually done at some time between your sophomore and senior years, with a maximum of three work experiences scheduled. Students enrolling in the alternate option (COOP 3000) will have the status of full-time students during their period of work. Students enrolled in the parallel option (COOP 2000) have full-time or part-time status determined by the number of credit hours in which they are enrolled. In the parallel option you work in the Longview area from 15 to 30 hours each week in your career field. There are also internships, usually during the summer, that may be used as cooperative education experiences. Although cooperative education experiences do not earn university credit, the experience is noted on the student’s transcript and becomes a part of the permanent record.