What is Co-operative Education or "Co-op" in Canada?

Co-operative Education Programs (Co-op) in Canada, are programs that formally integrate a student's academic studies with work experience with an employer organization. Students alternate academic terms with periods of experience in appropriate fields of business, industry and government according to the following criteria:

• each work situation is developed and/or approved by the co-operative educational institution 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 co-operative education institution
• the co-operative education student's performance on the job is supervised and evaluated by the student's employer
• the total co-operative work experience normally constitutes fifty percent of the time spent in academic study, and in no circumstances less than thirty percent