Co-oping: A short-term option with long-term payoffs: A “co-op” exhibits self-confidence, experience, and a perspective other students don´t have. There are benefits for academia and industry too

More and more colleges and corporations are taking part in a growing option of higher education known as cooperative education, or the coop program. The co-op concept, which was started in 1906 at the University of Cincinnati by Professor Herman Schneider, is based on the idea that students should be able to get practical experience to supplement their course work. Ann Keeling, assistant dean/associate professor in the division of professional practices at the University of Cincinnati, says that Schneider´s proposal to the university was well received, as it has been at over 1000 colleges since. “If you look around,” says Penn State co-op advisor William J. Ross in agreement, “you will find that there are relatively few schools that don´t have some of their students in this kind of a program.”