ay

OVER THE EDGE _ February 28, 2007

Co-op P

wer tes

Mrrcn Grant, PHoto Epiror

UNBC President Don Cozzetto and Provost Howard Brunt field questions at the Question and Answer period for the new Budget.

REBECCA CARMICHAEL
Stare WRITvER

As a result of the recent
budget issues, the University has
proposed that the Co-op Program
will be. ended at UNBC. The co-
op program currently allows stu-
dents to supplement their academ-
ic education with relevant paid
work experience. UNBC’s co-op
program is accredited by the Can-
adian Association for Cooperative
Education (CAFCE). To graduate
with a co-op designation students
need to complete at least four
work terms, including one in a fall
or winter semester. This experi-
ence makes co-op students highly
desirable among employers after
graduation. Many co-op students
end up working with former co-op
employers after graduation. The
money earned during co-op can
also supplement the high cost of
university.

However, despite the strong
benefits of co-op, total enrollment
is relatively low. During a presen-
tation to the Senate Howard Brunt
stated that only 94 students are en-
rolled in co-op this year, although
the co-op office states that 173
students are currently enrolled in
co-op, out of the 3600 students in
total at UNBC. This was cited as
one of the main reasons for choos-

ing co-op to be removed. The cost.

of running co-op is fairly high,
and the University decided that
it was not worth it for a resource

intensive program that benefits
proportionally few students. This
decision has been met with much
criticism from students and fac-
ulty. However, the decision to end
co-op is not completely finalized
and a sub-committee of the sen-
ate will be meeting to think of
creative new ways to implement
career preparation for students
and potentially retain the co-op
program in some form.

The Vice President Academic
and Provost, Howard Brunt, was
given the challenging task of
deciding how to reorganize pro-
grams in order to stay within the.
budget constraints. He proposed
that resources currently used to
fund co-op, which-amounts to ap-
proximately $400 thousand annu-
ally, would be better used to fund
career development programs
that would benefit all students at
UNBC. The details of such pro-
grams are not yet finalized. They
would likely consist of resume
and interview skill workshops,
Service Learning volunteer work,
and internships. According to Dr.
Brunt, more universities are mov-
ing towards Service Learning and
general career preparation mod-
els. However, most universities
in Canada still have co-operative
education. There has already been
some negotiation with SFU for
bringing in preparatory work skill
courses and workshops to UNBC.
Further input from students, em-

ployers, faculty, and co-op staff

will be necessary to adequately
devise this plan.

If the co-op program is ended
over the next year as proposed,
there will be a transition plan in
place to help current co-op stu-
dents finish their degree with a co-
op designation. No new students
will be admitted into co-op this
year. The total number of work
terms required to graduate with a
co-op designation will be reduced
from four to three. Current co-op
students will have a chance to fin-
ish their remaining work terms
during the upcoming summer, fall
and winter semesters, with co-op
ending after that time. For some
students this will mean three work
terms in a row.

The decision to co-op was
generally not supported by the stu-
dents and faculty of UNBC, even
those not directly affected by it.
In particular, there was some dis-
agreement about the way in which
the decision was made. It appears
as though the decision was made
by the Board of Governors without
being brought before the Senate.
Although the Board has the final
say in decisions such as these, the
Senate normally has the-role of
reviewing and making recommen-
dations about any changes to Uni-
versity programs, as stated in the
University Act. In this case, the
Senate was not consulted before
decisions about co-op and chan-
ges to other programs were made.
The director of co-op, Peter Rans

was fired and the decision was
released to the media before the
Senate had been consulted. This
was generally considered to be an
undemocratic way of dealing with
the situation. However, the issue
was added to the agenda at the

latest Senate meeting on Febru-

ary 14, 2007. Faculty and student
members of the Senate were gen-
erally not in favor of removing the
co-op program entirely. The pro-
posed alternatives were also not
considered sufficient. Some of the
issues brought up were that many
employers will only hire students
enrolled in an accredited co-op
program, and that current students
may be justified in taking legisla-
tive action against the University
for abruptly ending the program.
As a result of this discussion, a
sub-committee of the Senate was
formed to determine what can
be done to potentially retain the
co-op program in some form or
implement other career programs
and still stay within budget con-
straints. This will be done in close
consultation with students, fac-
ulty, employers and co-op staff.
UNBC students in general
have expressed strong feelings
about the proposed ending of the
co-op program. A petition circu-

lated received over 400 signatures -

protesting the removal of co-op
in only two and a half days. This
petition was initiated by co-op
students Robin Chang and Gareth
Hopkins. I was able to speak with

rogram in Jeopa rdy

Gareth Hopkins about his feelings

,on the decisions made about co-

op. He felt, as other students and
faculty do, that it is important to
retain the name of co-op, which
offers students opportunities they
would not otherwise have. For
example, many employers, such
as Canfor,-will only hire students
registered in an accredited co-op
program. He also feels that hav-
ing a high quality co-op program

_at UNBC is a tool that could be

much better utilized to recruit and
retain new students to UNBC,
and that simply getting rid of the
program is short sighted. Low en-
rollment rates were stated by the
administration as a major cause
of the recent budget shortfall.
Howard Brunt also stated that
UNBC has the second lowest re-
tention rate in Canada. “We need
to do a much better job of aggres-
sively marketing co-op as a sell-
ing point of UNBC,” said Gareth.
“Our program is unique because
students can start doing co-op in
their first yeat. This is a big ad-
vantage and we aren’t using it.”
Having a co-op program raises
the overall reputation of the uni-
versity, even for students who
choose not to participate in co-op
or to finish the entire designation.
For example, using the Associa-
tion of Universities and Colleges
of Canada (AUCC) search engine,
students can search specifically
for universities with co-op pro-
grams and exclude others. Among-
students who currently are or wish
to be in co-op, several have stated
that they will be leaving UNBC
for other institutions if the co-op
program is removed. Generally,
everyone agrees that UNBC can-
not afford to lose any current stu-
dents, or to lose potential future
students to other institutions.

While the loss of co-op will
likely further exasperate the prob-
lem of dropping enrollment and
retention rates, the University, is
not currently in a position to pay
the bill for this expensive program
for which relatively few students
pay fees. So, what can be done to
satisfy the clear need for co-op
as requested by students, while
still remaining within the budget?
This is not yet clear, but hopefully
the sub-committee of the Sen-
ate examining co-op will be able
to reach a satisfying compromise
for all parties involved. For this to
be successful, they will be work-
ing in close consultation with stu-.
dents, faculty, administration, co-
op staff and regional employers.
Until then, the future of the co-op
program is still unclear.