Academic Outcomes of Cooperative Education Participation

Outcomes and benefits of cooperative education (co-op) participation have been well documented; however, they have focused primarily on grade point averages (GPA) and career outcomes. Previous work on predictors of participation shows no significant differences by gender in the aggregate, but there are significant differences by ethnicity and major. One reason students may not participate in co-op is the perception of increased time to graduation; however, other benefits may outweigh the perceived limitations. This research furthers the literature by examining academic outcomes not previously considered, such as persistence in engineering and time to graduation. The work aims to answer the following questions: 1) what are the academic outcomes of co-op participation, and 2) focusing on diversity, which underrepresented groups and disciplines benefit academically from co-op participation? This study uses a longitudinal database of engineering students across six institutions, including co-op participants and non-participants. The sample includes undergraduate students from Aerospace, Chemical, Computer, Civil, Electrical, Industrial & Systems, and Mechanical Engineering majors. Regression modeling is used to calculate the relationships between co-op and outcome variables, including whether or not a student graduated from a particular institution, persistence in engineering, and time to graduation. Results show that co-op students are more likely to graduate in engineering with higher GPAs than their non-participant counterparts, although they will take longer to graduate. The implications of this study can be used by administrators and educators to understand differences in how co-op affects diverse student populations, especially those from underrepresented groups. The research will also inform co-op program policy making.