The Case for Higher-Ed “Co-Op” Programs

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | April 28, 2025 | Braden Colegrove and Chloe Nguyen

[karpov]

Like many students, I waited months after graduation before receiving a job offer. Why this delay for many of the nation’s recent graduates? The answer, in part, is that most “entry-level” positions now require candidates to have one to three years of experience. In fact, roughly 61 percent of entry-level job postings now demand at least three years.

How is a fresh graduate supposed to gain experience without years-long internships, which many students don’t pursue? A potential solution to this problem is for universities to adopt the “co-op” or cooperative model, in which students alternate between working for a company and attending classes.

Through the co-op model, students are given the opportunity to spend some semesters working for a company and others in class. A student applies to a co-op program at a large, respected corporation, such as BlackRock, JP Morgan, Exelon, Comcast, and others, and then interviews as if he or she were applying for a real job or internship. Once accepted, he or she begins working at that company at a predetermined time in the academic year.

This model not only provides students with valuable work experience before graduation, but it also helps them build a network of professional contacts who can help them find future opportunities.

Let’s consider two of the schools in the top 100 according to U.S. News: Drexel University in Philadelphia, ranked 86th overall, and North Carolina State University, ranked 58th. As of this writing, Drexel, at which more than 94 percent of undergraduates participate in a co-op program, places 97 percent of its business students in jobs (or graduate school) within the first year after graduation. Sixty-one percent of all graduates have at least one job offer upon graduation.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education
KEYWORDS: college; coop; drexel; internships; northeastern

[Waverunner]

Academia will scream, we’re an institution of higher learning, not a trade school. Because the students will see the real world, and not the BS that’s being shoveled.

[NewHampshireDuo]

I got my BSEE from Northeastern in Boston in the early ‘70s. NU had a coop program for the bachelor degree, 5 years working half time. This included a regular summer semester. I worked for three companies which let me decide which industry best matched my interests. I settled on semiconductor. Had a regular job with that company immediately upon graduation and I stuck with that sector for my whole career.

[9YearLurker]

How many internships last “years-long”?

But colleges like Northeastern have had such programs for decades to great success.

[RainMan]

Nothing new here. My undergrad school (Rochester Institute of Technology) required 2 quarters of co-op to graduate. I graduated in 1985.

[Alberta's Child]

I didn’t go through a co-op program, but I was fortunate enough to get a part-time job as a field technician in my industry while I was still an undergraduate. Within two months my employer convinced me to work on a nearly full-time basis and finish school in the evening program. It took me 6+ years to finish my undergraduate degree, but it was absolutely worth it. A month after I graduated, I had one of my former classmates — who graduated on the same day as me — working for me.

[FreedomPoster]

BME, cooperative plan here. Worked 6 quarters, which was required to get a co-op plan degree. Worked in the industry of my coop job for about 15 years.

[anton]

I’d require colleges to co-sign student loan guaranties.

[trebb]

Vo-Tec makes a comeback.....who do they want to pay the companies to allow students desk space?

[Lizavetta]

My ex and I did co-ops back in the 1980s with IBM. It was a good program ... both sides got to evaluate each other. They grabbed him right after he graduated.

[vikingd00d]

Co-ops and internships work fine for STEM disciplines, but I don’t see how they’re going to work for “grievance studies” degrees.

[LastDayz]

Concur.... it was SOP back in the 80’s and 90’s at many technical colleges. Sadly, many administration’s are too busy chasing benji’s and don’t give two shiite’s about student success.

[cyclotic]

My son graduated as an Astronautical Engineer from a small private engineering college. While not a co-op, he had a job in his field at NASA for two years while a student. (Very well compensated)

The school also has a 90 day employment in your field at a competitive wage guarantee (they never have to pay it)

[Tired of Taxes]

Co-ops are a great idea... but only if the university can guarantee a spot for every student.

Otherwise, the co-op program should be optional.

Co-ops are similar to internships, and I have personal knowledge of what’s happening now with internships:

People thought college students should graduate with experience.

So, many universities (maybe all of them?) now require all students to complete an internship before they can graduate.

The problem is, the universities don’t place the students. It’s up to the students to find the internship, and it must be one approved by the university.

As a result, some students are being denied degrees, even after they finished all their course work, because they can’t find an internship that’s acceptable to the college and will hire them.