INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS -- Cooperative Education

Cooperative Education provides the opportunity for you to apply the concepts and skills learned in the classroom to a job situation. The professional and technical experience you gain through Cooperative Education establishes a record of performance in your career field and eases your entry into a permanent career position. Over 80% of the Cooperative Education graduates remain with their Co-op employers upon graduation. If you Co-op with a federal government agency, you can be retained non-competitively in a permanent position upon graduation.

To be eligible to participate in Cooperative Education courses, you must:

1. Have declared a major in a degree or certificate program that offers co-op experience.
2. Have completed 15 semester hours of college work or the equivalent, including transfer credit.
3. Have completed a minimum of two courses in your major area of study.
4. Have obtained a 2.00 or better grade point average.
5. Have obtained divisional approval after a review of your academic/employment record and a determination of your potential for success in a Co-op position.

In order to enroll in a cooperative education course, you must first visit the College Co-op Education Office, located at the Annandale Campus, to obtain the co-op guidelines and the list of materials you will need to submit to be considered for the co-op program. The Cooperative Education Office will register you directly for the course. In addition, you must submit a co-op contract signed by the employer and have faculty approval before the Co-op Office can register you for the program. Questions may be directed to the College Cooperative Education Office at 703-323-2432 or e-mail novaco-op@nvcc.edu. For specific information on the Co-op process, you should access the Co-op Web site directly at www.nvcc.edu/annandale/business/coop.

Credit earned in Cooperative Education courses may be used to substitute up to 10 credits of course work in selected degree programs with the approval of your faculty advisor, used for elective credit, or earned as additive credit.