Unique program could offer credit during work experience

By Marissa Mararac, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture

PULLMAN, Wash. – Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture is developing a unique program to provide workplace opportunities for students who want to practice their skills in a professional setting prior to graduation.

Work-ready, day one

The professional practice and experiential learning program (PPEL) will help students find jobs where they can work 40 hours a week, get paid, learn from industry, get academic credit and still retain their full-time Washington State University student status.

The proposed program is under review by the WSU registrar and the catalog subcommittee; if approved, it will begin in 2016.

“We want our students to be work-ready on day one, so they need industry experience prior to graduation,” said Sandi Brabb, PPEL coordinator.

Under the proposed program, PPEL students will enroll in a two-credit co-op course designed to augment the experiential learning environment. Co-op students will work full time; because of their enrollment in the co-op course, they will be considered full-time students in training.

Experience counts

The program will let students work in an industry related to their major, which will allow their work experience to count toward their major’s technical elective requirement. Students will find co-op jobs on their own or they can work with Brabb, who employs a number of ways to connect students with internship and co-op opportunities.

For a co-op to be approved by PPEL, the job must be a minimum of 14 weeks (equivalent to one term or semester), but could be as long as three terms (12 months). Upon completion of the co-op, students will be required to write a reflection essay summarizing their experience and what they learned about their chosen career path.

“It’s really exciting to help students get practical experience, applying the theory they learned in the classroom to hands-on learning, and then get a job when they graduate,” said Brabb.

Career Fair Oct. 6

Brabb is helping Voiland College students find internships and co-op opportunities. Each fall, the college and the Academic Success & Career Center sponsor the Career Fair and VCEA Expo that partner dozens of companies throughout the region with WSU students looking for internships and jobs.

The 2015 Career Fair and VCEA Expo will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Beasley Coliseum.