Characteristics of continuing cooperative education programs in the southeast region of the United States : 1976-1986

The study surveyed cooperative education programs in the southeastern region of the United States which had been in continuous operation between the years 1976-1986 to determine if they shared common characteristics affecting continuation. The purpose of the study was to obtain information about characteristics of continuing cooperative education programs to assist higher education administrators considering the initiation or continuation of cooperative education programs with data to assist them in making informed decisions.

A questionnaire was developed to obtain information about five major categories of continuous cooperative education programs. The categories were: (1) institutional information; (2) program information; (3) faculty, administration, student, and employer support; (4) staff work load information; and (5) awarding of academic credit information. These categories were selected because they consistently emerged in a comprehensive review of the literature.

The results of the study revealed that cooperative education programs exist in diverse institutional settings. The most important characteristics identified were the institutions' commitment to fund programs; integration into the academic mission of the institution; designated staff to operate programs; support from faculty, administration, students, and employers; and the awarding of credit for student participation.

Based on the results of the study, it was recommended that institutions considering the initiation of cooperative education programs carefully review the identified characteristics. This is particularly important since cooperative education programs experienced a 58% noncontinuation rate over a 10-year span.