Co-op engineers typically work full time for one semester and study full time for the next. The second time at the work place, the student can see what he or she learned in the previous semester. The third time at work is a different cycle with advanced responsibilities. Co-op participants are registered students but receive no credit hours. Transcripts reflect that the students are involved with co-op engineering that particular semester.
Corporate partners realize that students co-op for more reasons than to earn money.
Kimberly-Clark received the 1998 Cooperative Engineering Employee Excellence Award. Bender commented that, when he visits a university, he usually receives stacks of resumes. Going in, Bender added, students are quickly put on projects and assigned a mentor. Students meet with mentors and work on assignments that may tie together different fields of engineering, after which formal training begins. Later, students may be assigned a variety of projects from processing equipment to manufacturing items.