A co-operative education program integrates a student’s academic studies with work experience in co-operative education employer organizations. The plan is for the student to alternate periods of experience in appropriate fields of business, industry, government, social services and the professions in accordance with the following criteria:
- each work placement is developed and/or approved by the College as a suitable learning situation;
- the co-operative education student is engaged in productive work rather than merely observing;
- the co-operative education student receives remuneration for the work performed;
- the co-operative education student’s progress on the job is monitored by the College;
- the co-operative education student’s performance on the job is supervised and evaluated by the student’s co-operative education employer;
- the total co-operative education work experience is usually not less than twenty-five percent of the time spent in academic study.
Co-operative education plays an integral role in Red River College Polytechnic’s mission of providing high-quality educational and training opportunities. Co-operative education at Red River College Polytechnic is delivered through a decentralized system in order to reflect the unique situation of each department and ensure relevance to the industry served by the program.
All certificate and diploma programs at Red River College Polytechnic which are designated as co-operative education programs comply with the definition based upon the by-laws of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL)