Cooperative (co-op) Training towards a degree?

[Life Long Learning]

Any colleges have Cooperative (co-op) Training or Cooperative Work Experience (CWE) a "major part" of their degree?

Not just a few credits, but a major part. Seems like applied AS/BS degrees would have real work experience:iagree:. For those who have a job it is a win-win.

[KayV]

There is a group called the Work Colleges Consortium:
Home | Work Colleges Consortium

[Life Long Learning]

Not what I was thinking, but these are way cool!:hurray: These are for folks moving there and attending full-time.

I was thinking of non-traditional students doing work were they work and earning Cooperative (co-op) Training or Cooperative Work Experience (CWE) as "major part" of their degree?

There is a group called the Work Colleges Consortium:
Home | Work Colleges Consortium

[KayV]

Gotcha. I know TESU's Bachelor of Science in Human Services expects one year/ 1500 hours of work or volunteer experience.
Thomas Edison State University: Flexible human services degree that leverages your professional expertise

Non-traditional students often use PLA portfolios and business CLEP/DSST etc. exams to earn those college credits instead of documenting it as CWE.

[Life Long Learning]

I did see this a year ago. One needs to work 1500 hours to apply for the degree, but they still need to do 120 credits.:toetap: No Co-op or CWE while in the degree program, just regular college classes?

Gotcha. I know TESU's Bachelor of Science in Human Services expects one year/ 1500 hours of work or volunteer experience.
Thomas Edison State University: Flexible human services degree that leverages your professional expertise

Non-traditional students often use PLA portfolios and business CLEP/DSST etc. exams to earn those college credits instead of documenting it as CWE.

[KayV]

I haven't taken it, but I understand that the verified work experience comprises the main portion of the 6-hour Capstone in that program.

[Life Long Learning]

That would be a big plus!

I haven't taken it, but I understand that the verified work experience comprises the main portion of the 6-hour Capstone in that program.

[bjcheung77]

I, for one have wondered about the utility of these type of degrees, I think they're Applied Degree's at the Bachelors level.
For some individuals wondering, I think they're more of the in between of Arts/Sciences and Trades; Canada has these type of degrees.
Essentially, it's 3 years of schooling and 1 year of work experience for an Applied Degree - Bachelors level.

I would compare these to the competency based degree programs offered at Capella, Hodges, NAU, WGU, U of Wisconsin and so on.
The big difference between these two would be, Applied Degree sometimes might be a terminal degree that doesn't ladder up further.
Another difference is that competency based degree programs are classes you complete at your pace, while working.

[cookderosa]

If you could give us a hint as to the occupational area you're considering, that might be helpful. There are 2 ways to break down competency education- education/learning/skills that happened already (credit for what you already know) or education/learning/skills that happen in the program.

I am very familiar with formal apprenticeships that are coordinated between community colleges and the US Department of Labor. That was my field for many years. Specific to the program I ran (Culinary Arts) our students completed 6000 hours of on the job learning under an approved sponsoring chef and took classes at the community college 1 day per week toward completion of their AAS degree. That was a 3 year degree and none could be completed online. The work experience couldn't happen ahead of the student enrolling, but we could award credit for 1-2 semester's worth of hours if they had good work history.

If you're looking for someone to award credit for something you've already learned? If that's the case, try searching the term "Prior Learning Assessment" for better results.

Finally, the other thing you might be asking about is called "competency based education" which involves proving your skills as you complete the program. There are a number of fields that use this model, but in the distance learning area it might be slim pickins. I think Fielding does this for psychology, but if you search you'll likely find others.

I would also encourage you to ask on the sister board, there are a lot of members there that have been around for decades, and if they don't know- it doesn't exist.

EDIT: I had 3 other thoughts- if you use the model that is popular in the nursing field, you know they do a lot of bridge programs, in those programs, the "hands on" part happens on the ground, but the student then bridges into a degree or higher degree. (EC has one)
Second- you could try searching for AAS degrees that are online- that might give you something.
Finally- there are more and more bachelor's degrees that specifically serve the purpose of offering a degree after the AAS. You might see the AAS part as the co-op and then separately you can do the bachelor's section. Bachelor of Professional Studies is a popular title, and a less popular but old title that everyone used to use is completely escaping me. I've seen it on occasion, maybe someone else can remember? I think it's called something like Board of Trustees Bachelor is similar- it's what we now call "adult completion" degrees. Sorry- drawing a blank, but it's one more thing for you to try.

[KayV]

Some Texas schools have started offering online bachelors degrees in Applied Studies, University Studies, and General Studies (looking at you, Texas Tech and Lamar).

West Virginia offers Board of Governors AAS degrees which bridge to Regents Bachelor of Arts degrees.