UPEI Co-operative Education programs receive national accreditation

'This national accreditation endorses the high quality of our co-operative education programs and highlights the tremendous learning opportunities our students acquire while integrating academic theory and real-world work experiences,' said UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'This is an endorsement of UPEI's commitment to high standards in academic programming and is great news for both our students and our partners in the employer community.'

Norah McRae, President of CAFCE and National Accreditation Council member, stated, 'Congratulations to UPEI's Co-operative Education programs on receiving national accreditation for their Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science (Computer Science). National accreditation by CAFCE signifies that programs are operating according to high standards. These accreditation standards ensure that students are well prepared and supported before, during, and after each co-operative education experience and that their learning through the combination of classroom and work experiences is maximized.'

Co-operative education is an academic program which allows students to integrate their classroom studies with real work experiences. Normally, students are accepted into the program in their second year of study. They are required to complete at least three four-month paid work terms, which alternate with the student's normal academic courses in their respective fields of study. UPEI students have successfully completed work terms with a number of PEI businesses and government departments, while others have also completed international work terms in New Zealand, China, United States, Thailand, Scotland, Ireland, and Britain.

UPEI introduced the co-operative education option for students in the School of Business Administration in September 1996. Computer Science followed shortly after in May 2000, and the Physics department introduced its co-op option in 2003.

Several studies have found that students in post-secondary institutions who graduate with co-operative education are more successful in securing employment in their fields and do so more quickly than other students. Co-operative education graduates also have lower amounts of student debt and are paid at a higher level. Over 500 students have graduated from UPEI's co-op programs, generating over eight million dollars in student work term salaries.