How the Co-Op Process Works for Non-NOVA Students:

• Non-NOVA students must submit transcripts; employer information; their five objectives.
• Once the co-op coordinator has approved their internship description, the student and employer will be asked to sign the agreement.
• Once the co-op coordinator receives the signed agreement the student will then be registered for the course and he/she will be asked to pay the tuition within 24 hours of registration.
• The coordinator will then send a packet of materials (copies of the agreement; syllabus and performance evaluations) to the employer; student and faculty member.
• The student must meet with the faculty member at the beginning of the semester to review assignments. He/she will be work independently throughout the semester and will be asked to submit assignments on the given deadline and give an oral presentation at the end of the semester where they explain how they achieved the objectives they set at the beginning of the semester. Please note that no extensions will be given.
• This course is conducted as an independent study and does not meet on a weekly basis.
• Employers must complete performance evaluations and submit them to the coordinator.
• If the student does not submit assignments by the midpoint of the semester, he/she will be withdrawn.
• If students complete assignments on time, a grade will be given at the completion of the semester.

How Co-Op Works for NOVA Students:

• Students must secure their own internships and then submit their employer information (name of supervisor, phone and fax numbers, mailing address and email address). The co-op Coordinator will determine if the position is directly related to their major. This review process may take 5 to 7 days). Students should not assume that their position will be approved, as the internship must directly relate the courses they have completed and students must be academically eligible (have earned 15 credits; 6 credits in their major and have a 2.0 GPA). Given that some internships may not be approved, students who need to maintain full time status requirements are advised to register for 12 credits and if the internship is approved, they can drop one of their courses and take the internship. Please note that F-1 students must receive permission from the International Student center prior to registering for the co-op course.
• Students submit transcripts, letter of eligibility from the International Student Office (if applicable), completed academic advising sheet (which lists all the courses they have completed to date in their program); employer contact information (name of the company, their supervisor, address, phone and fax numbers, and email address), their five objectives based upon their job description to the Co-op Office to determine eligibility for co-op. Students must submit this information each semester they want to apply for co-op, as their eligibility status may change. Students may only register for co-ops during an academic semester (http://www.nvcc.edu/calendars/). No credit will be awarded retroactively.
• Students must first independently complete their academic advising curriculum sheet. The purpose of this exercise is for the student to become knowledgeable of their degree requirements, the courses they have completed,  the courses they have remaining to finish and to determine how or if their co-op credits will or will not apply toward their degree. Once students have completed this form they should ask their faculty advisor to review it and make sure that they have completed it correctly. In addition students should ask the advisor to note on their academic advising how their co-op will apply to their program of study. If the advisor suggests applying the co-op as substituting for another course, then students need to complete a course substitution form and submit it and a description of their internship description to their advisor in order for this co-op to be counted toward graduation requirements.
• The co-op coordinator will fax the agreement to the employer and student for their signatures. Once the coordinator has received all the documentation from the student along with the signed agreement, the coordinator will register the student for the co-op course.
• The co-op coordinator will notify the International Student Advisor of any F-1 students who are registered for a particular number of co-op hours and provide him with all the employer information and the number of hours they will be working. Students will then be asked to bring their I-20 to him for his signature. Only after the international student advisor has signed the I-20 may students begin their internships.
• The coordinator will provide students with a packet of information including the name of their professor, their assignments, syllabi, and performance evaluations. Students should contact the professor overseeing their co-op and make arrangements to meet with them during the first week of class. At this meeting they should review their objectives, assignments and due dates. Class meeting times noted on the registration are not valid, they are used only as a means of listing the course on NOVAConnect.
• Students will be required complete the assignments which will be posted on the Co-op Website and are contained in their packet of information. Note: If they fail to submit the first three by the due date stated on the syllabus they will be administratively withdrawn from the course. Students should meet with their faculty members a minimum of three times during the semester, once at the beginning of the semester, at the midpoint of the semester to discuss their progress and at the end of the semester for their final presentation. Students should submit all assignments via email to their faculty members and the co-op coordinator. Students will also be asked to make a final presentation to the faculty member overseeing the co-op and the co-op coordinator.
• The co-op coordinator will send performance evaluation forms to the employer and students. Employers and students will complete a preliminary evaluation and final evaluation. Employers’ evaluations will represent 24% of the students’ grades. Students will be asked to complete an evaluation of the internship opportunity and will be asked to send this evaluation to the co-op coordinator.

The Registration Process for Co-Op Students

Students can only obtain credit for an internship if they meet the co-op requirements and register for a co-op course during one of NOVA’s sixteen or eight week sessions in the fall and spring semesters or they enroll in a twelve or six week session during the summer.

All co-op courses are given the course number 297. The course prefix of the co-op course will be determined by the area of the internship. For example, all internships in the area of information technology will be given the course prefix ITE; political science internships will be given the prefix PLS. Since the course description in the catalog pertains to all disciplines it is intentionally vague. Therefore, students are encouraged to keep all assignments as documentation of the work they completed during their internships.

How Co-Op Credit Hours are Awarded

Students may earn 3 credits each for their first two co-ops and 4 credits for their third co-op. (i.e., the first semester a student will earn 3 credits of co-op; the second semester they will earn 3 credits of co-op and the third semester they will earn 4 credits of co-op for a total of 10 credits, the maximum number of co-op credits which may be awarded under the Virginia Community College System.)