The co-op approach to creating a workforce – Collaboration between education and business is essential

"My real goal is to have hundreds of students taking this kind of experience," Jones said. "Every student should be able to apply what they are learning in the work environment."

A co-op is distinct from an internship because students do the work experience as part of a structured for-credit class. The employer provides a mentor, and in return gets 10 to 15 hours of work a week. Jones called it "an internship on steroids," a social contract designed by the university that allows the student to learn marketable skills in a real-world environment.

By: Anne Wallace Allen

Full Story: http://idahobusinessreview.com/2016/11/21/the-co-op-approach-to-creating-a-workforce/

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The importance of Montana’s career and technical education classes http://www.matr.net/article-74317.html

University of Montana Western’s Experience One program gets high marks http://www.matr.net/article-74294.html

For the second consecutive year, Montana Western has broken the modern record for students enrolling at the university. – Experiential Learning program has boosted enrollment, retention, class completion, graduation rates and placement. http://www.matr.net/article-73477.html

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Experiential Learning Programs – We Connect the Classroom to the Real World

Our experiential learning continuum encourages students to “engineer today” in addition to attending class. Continuous, experiential learning enlarges students’ technical competence and prepares them for their future careers.

https://engineering.buffalo.edu/home/Engineering-life/experiential-learning.html