1	Co-op quality: using aggregated assessment data to improve assignments Mark Erickson & Melvin Simms Cooperative Education College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, USA WACE Symposium, Nov. 2006, London, England http://www.ccs.neu.edu/co-op/research/index.htm
2	Session contents Quality in context Definition of quality On-line survey example Results Feedback of quality data to employers Meetings, presentations, work plan and job description
3	Focus on quality Part of assessment strategy in college Institutional focus: the quality mantra Data on quality needed by administration, students and employers Program focus: what constitutes quality? Develop a matrix of factors intrinsic to quality jobs Hope to improve assignments, attract better employers, and increase satisfaction
4	Co-op quality definition A challenging assignment with positive supervision and mentoring which attempts to match the student’s technical, developmental & professional abilities and allows the student to excel in one or more of the above.
5	Survey Survey instrument
6	Attributes of quality jobs Job characteristics Job duties and working conditions Working with detail Working as part of a team Period of work Weekend and shift work Flexible work hours Part-time work Overtime
7	Attributes of quality jobs Job satisfaction Ability to see results Problem solving Creativity Recognition Ability to influence Ability to fully utilize skills Opportunities to learn Possible advancement opportunities Supervision
8	Attributes of quality jobs Job status Social status Status within an organization
9	Quality survey results
10	How would you rate the quality of this assignment?
11	Job Conditions: How important was it for your co-op assignment to meet the following conditions, and how satisfied were you that the co-op assignment met these conditions?
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14	Other findings Students exceed employer expectations However, gap between employer expectations and student performance is decreasing 95% of students rate their assignments as high or moderate quality
15	Other findings Top 5 characteristics for Importance: Opportunities to learn General working conditions Ability to fully utilize skills* Being recognized as an individual Problem solving Top 5 characteristics for Satisfaction: General working conditions Being recognized as an individual Problem solving Flexible work hours* Opportunities to learn
16	Effects of survey Changes in ways students think about experiential learning Provide aggregated feedback during reflection meetings Students have a clearer idea of how to distinguish quality in an assignment
17	Effects of survey Improvement in assignment quality: Aggregate data vs. individual feedback Feedback to employers: Improving assignments Effectively incorporating co-op into HR strategy New outreach to employers Guidelines to improve job description and work plan
18	Working with employers: 1 Problem, poor quality ratings. Met with managers and HR for public agency Provided general information on co-op, cycle, learning objectives, benefits etc Covered findings on quality, examples and specific feedback
19	"Ideal" jobs "I managed several key projects for my group... Other tasks included running meetings, conference calls, task forces as well as giving customer-facing presentations. Plenty of work to do. There are numerous opportunities to network, learn, and grow. You are told 'we need to do this' and you are completely responsible for figuring out how."
20	"Ideal" jobs "I learned new languages like C#, ASP.NET, and learned how to automate builds. Every new task I was assigned was a learning experience... very good team of people to work with. I had a lot of independence in projects."
21	Moderate and low-quality jobs "I did not receive feedback from my supervisor during the term. I had no idea if there was anything I should change, or if anybody appreciated my performance." "I was treated like a secretary, i.e. phone calls, not being allowed to go out of the office, stacking paper." "There wasn't much work to be done so I felt very unproductive." "Not a very challenging job."
22	Feedback to agency All rated moderate quality Comments praised friendly environment, technical exposure, chance to enhance "people" skills Consistent theme of criticism: not enough work to do/too much downtime
23	Working with employers: 2 International software and hardware company Excellent entry or mid level positions Lack of advancement opportunities Students left for new employers or reluctantly returned
24	Strategy Work with HR and upper level management Individual managers vs. corporate strategy Foster higher level positions and tie to college recruitment strategy
25	Working with employers: 3 Like a dream Internationally known cellular communication company New relationship for us Meetings with HR, VP’s and Managers and co-op reps from Engineering and CCIS Challenging jobs at different levels First time around 3 offers, 3 pending
26	Communication with employers Meetings, communication and email General and targeted PowerPoint presentations (use sparingly) Print materials for industry Design and development of a quality co-op program
27	Assessment is key It “feels” like we are headed in the right direction Better relations with employers and managers Higher satisfaction with co-op program Assessment is key
28	Comments & questions