Experiential Education

1. Workshop on Innovations in ICT EducationBeijing, China Academic Industry Partnerships:Cooperative Education Mark EricksonDirector Co-op and Academic AdvisingCollege of Computer and Information ScienceNortheastern University, Boston, MA, USA

2. Experiential Education • Collaboration between academia and industry whereby students’ education is enhanced • Cooperative education (co-op) • Experiential education • Work integrated learning • Cooperative and work integrated education • Sandwich education • Internships

3. Popularity of Internship/Co-op • General agreement that experiential learning or work integrated learning is a valuable adjunct to classroom learning. • Increasing popularity in the US • CEIA 300 member institutions in US • WACE 100 member institutions worldwide with national associations in the US, Australia, Canada, UK, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand and Sweden

4. Today’s Talk • Briefly • Northeastern University • College of Computer and Information Science • Co-op model • How it works • Unique aspects • Partnership with industry • Assessment • Panel discussion • Practical implications

5. Northeastern University • Private Research University -- Boston, Massachusetts, USA • National leader in cooperative education, begun in 1909 • Urban campus • 16,000 Full-time undergraduate students • 10,000 part-time and graduate students • Highly selective (43,000 applicants for 2,800 slots) • CS and Engineering average SAT 1400 • Increasingly international • Seven colleges – • Engineering and Computer and Information Science are separate

6. Present Day • New students demand superior academics AND co-ops • Career emphasis is still important, but not the priority • Making money on co-op, building resume and getting first job • A educational model based on over a hundred years of experience • Increasingly sophisticated • Combining excellent academic program with related work experiences • President’s Mantra • Providing transformative experiences that produce graduates who are: critical thinkers, more globally and socially aware, better prepared to thriveand life-long learners who can succeed in multiple careers

7. Computer and Information Science • 36 Faculty • Ten have joint appointments which strengthen interdisciplinary efforts in our major research themes • 8 research faculty/scientists • 560 undergraduate CS/IS majors • 530 M.S. students in 3 programs • MS in CS, MS in IA, MS in HI • 91 Ph.D. students in 3 programs • PhD in CS, PhD in IA, PhD in PHI

8. Technical Research Foci • Programming Languages • Formal Methods • Software Engineering • Information Security • Algorithms and Theory • Systems • Social Networks • Network Science • AI • HCI • Robotics • Information Retrieval and Data Mining • ….. $

9. Co-op at Northeastern • Alternating periods of academic study with periods ofsubstantive full-time employment • The entire structure and curriculum are built around co-op • Experiences tied to academic and professional interests • NU 90 % go on Co-op (99% in Engineering, Business, & CS) • 99% of students who have been on co-op recommend a co-op based program to a friend • Co-op adds one year to Undergrad & 6 months to degree completion • Tuition charged only for academic programs, not for co-op

10. Experiential Learning Resources • Northeastern commits significant resources to experiential education. • Over 60 full-time coordinators plus administrative staff • “Central Co-op” office – manage university wide activities • Data Management system, updates and improvements • Additional academic courses • Most courses offered twice to accommodate co-op schedule • Additional course offered in condensed summer format • Extraordinary level of flexibility which adds significantly to required resources.

11. Undergraduate Co-op Numbers 2011 - 12 • 2200 co-op employers ____________________________________________________________ • 7000 students on co-op ____________________________________________________________ • 6 months length of co-op assignment ____________________________________________________________ • 37 states in which NU co-ops worked _________________________________________________ • 130 locations outside USA • 400 students on co-op abroad USA

12. Co-op Learning Model Preparation Learning Activity Reflection

13. Co-op Patterns at Northeastern

14. Co-op vs. Internships • Co-ops • Clearly defined, full-time positions away from the classroom, with specific learning outcomes and experiences integrated into the curriculum • Internships in the US • Often ill-defined, unpaid, part-time and short • Add value, but less than co-op • May be during academic semester • May or may not be related to major or interest • Lack of integration into the academic experience • Usually no longer than three months

15. Co-op Coordinators • Team of co-op coordinators for each college • Coordinators assigned to students by major • Understand interests of the students and the job requirements for positions in industries associated with that major • Role of coordinator • Prepare/guide and mentor students • Develop co-op opportunities matching the interests of students in that field • Maintain/nurture and expand relationships with employers

16. University/Student/Industry Partnership • Company • Pipeline for trained hires • Extended job interview • Real work for 6 months, year round coverage • Enthusiasm and vitality to the workforce • Students – more on this later • Understand career options and paths • Personal growth • Workplace competence • Academic growth • Learning specific to the discipline

17. Co-op Learning Outcomes • Personal Growth • Fulfill commitments • Self-assess and self-direct • Effective coping behaviors • Distinguish the relevant • Workplace Skills • Exhibit professional behaviors • Interact effectively • Work effectively in groups • Optimize resources

18. More Co-op Learning Outcomes • Academic Growth • Apply classroom theory to real world • More academic focus on return • Understand why they are learning what they are learning • Knowledge Skill Acquisition • Communicate and organize ideas • Discipline specific learning

19. College and Program-based Learning Goals • Each program develops discipline specific goals based on their curriculum • Examples for CS • Program specification and documentation • Program design skills • Program contracts • Program testing • The nature of computation and program evaluation • Abstractions in program design • Programming as a teamwork

20. A Partnership with Employers Job descriptions developed through collaboration with employers • Clearly defined tasks and responsibilities • Projects that can be completed during the co-op period • Clearly identified supervisor • Clearly defined process for constructive feedback during the co-op • Learning outcomes are established and monitored differently in each college • Evaluation at conclusion of the co-op by employer and student

21. A Partnership with Employers Co-op coordinator works closely with industry representatives • Describe and explain program • Discuss industry needs and student skill levels • Positions posted on university data system • Students express interest – resumes “bundled” by co-op coordinators • Employer decides who to interview • Employer makes the ultimate hiring decision • Northeastern does not place students

22. Relationship: University & Employer No contractual relationship between the university and the employer • During the co-op period, employer relationship is with the student • No commitment for particular number of positions now or in the future • Positions posted on university data system • Students express interest – resumes “bundled” by co-op coordinators • Employer decides who to interview • Employer makes the ultimate hiring decision • Northeastern does NOT place students

23. Relationship: Employer & Student Basic employment contract for defined period of time • Hourly wage negotiated between employer and student/employee • Employer not required to provide benefits • University considers students on co-op to be full-time students • No commitment for full-time position after graduation (although offers often made) • Student/Employee may be fired for cause or changed circumstances • Students who leave before end of co-op get no credit for co-op

24. Co-op Data System • Position information (duties, qualifications, pay, location, etc.) • Student data (major, year, schedule of co-op cycles, coordinator) • Ability to upload and send resumes and to collect assessments • Transaction information • Where have student resumes been sent? Which positions have been filled? Which coordinator is handling the transaction? • Archived information on past co-op cycles, including assessments • Emergency information • Precise location information • Supervisor identity and contact information • Student contact information

25. Assessment of Co-op How do we know that this form of education works? One-on-one meetings with Coordinator • Student reflection – • Written, group and/or individual meeting with Coordinator • Students often say they learn as much on co-op as they do in the classroom University-wide tools • Student self-assessment • Employer assessment of student College specific tools • Program specific surveys or assessment instruments • Electronic portfolios • Written reflections

26. Employer & Student Evaluations

27. Assessment of Co-op Computer and Information Science assessment activities • Written goal setting and written reflection(ongoing) • Various surveys • Student assessment of quality of assignment • Where did your gain your skills, school, class or other • Electronic Portfolios • Evidence/samples of completed work evaluated

28. CCIS Quality Co-op Assessment How would you rate the quality of your assignment using this definition? Challenging with positive supervision and mentoring which attempts to match the student’s technical, developmental, and professional abilities and allows the student to excel in one or more of the following: • CAREER MANAGEMENT • TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE • PROGRAMMING

29. Anecdotal evidence “Co-op experience was great. My advisor helped greatly in finding a job and kept in touch in regards to how my co-op was progressing. The co-op program has been great for me. It has allowed me to experiment with different areas of computer science. Initially I was not sure if I wanted to just do programming at my job, but after doing a software development co-op I realized I really enjoy it. I ended up getting a full time job with one of my co-op employers.”

30. Key Points • Combining experience with rigorous academics is a superior educational model • Not all experience is educative – reflection and integration are important • Direct integration into the classroom is difficult • At the core of successful programs are employer partners • Requires a supportive culture within the university to be successful • Additional resources required to implement/maintain co-op program

31. Over 2,200 Employers Post Co-op Positions for Northeastern Students In CS/IS and Engineering top employers include: IBM PTC Intuit Apple Novartis Verizon John Hancock Google General Electric Square Motorola General Electric HP Boeing Intel Bloomberg Intuit Lockheed Martin MFS Financial SAP Nvidia Symantec Amazon Goldman Sachs AkamaiNokia Tripadviosr SpaceX Analog Devices Novartis Broadcom Mathworks State Street Cisco Bose Harvard Management Nextel Seagate Symantec Zynga Microsoft EMC Ernst and Young PayPal The Mathworks BAE Oracle Tripadvisor Hasbro HuluPhilips QualcomStratus Computer Ericsson CognexDigitasNetApp Research in Motion RSA 3COM Textron

32. Questions