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.
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.
How many internships last “years-long”?
But colleges like Northeastern have had such programs for decades to great success.
Nothing new here. My undergrad school (Rochester Institute of Technology) required 2 quarters of co-op to graduate. I graduated in 1985.
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.
I’d require colleges to co-sign student loan guaranties.
Vo-Tec makes a comeback.....who do they want to pay the companies to allow students desk space?
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.
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)