So Where Does Our Co-op Fee Go?

At the beginning of June, I asked what seemed like a simple question to my classmates: “Where does our co-op fee go?”, and discovered that no one knew. We had been paying over $600.00 on top of our tuition for the past 4.5 years and we were clueless as to how our co-op fee was being spent. So I decided to find out for myself, and with the help of FedS VP Education I met with Cooperative Education and Career Action (CECA) representatives to find out the answer.

On Monday, July 21, 2014, CECA released a financial breakdown on its student-funded activities for the first time. The cost structure for the fees collected breaks down into 67% for salary expenses to employ 140 full-time, part-time, and CECA co-op students; 11% for non-salary expenses such as travel, marketing, and outreach; and 22% for indirect expenses such as employee benefits, Tech support, and building capital and finance cost. During the current academic year, co-op students on academic term paid a mandatory $634.00 co-op fee to CECA for an approximate total of $15.1 million; roughly $6.4 million from Engineering students.

CECA is funded solely by students. The University does not contribute to CECA’s operation as co-op is not viewed as a mandatory component of undergrad education by Federal and Provincial Governments.  The salary and non-salary expenses mainly fund employees and services that oversee over 18,000 work terms, 7,600 of which are Engineering students.

To note a distinction, the Centre for Career Action (CCA) on the first floor of the the Tatham Centre offers services to assist co-op and non co-op students with career planning. These specific services are funded with some of the Incidental Fees all students pay with their tuition and not through the co-op fee.

CECA DEPARTMENTS

The approximate $11.8 million salary and non-salary expenses can be broken down into seven divisions of CECA:

1. Employment Relations, ~$5.1 million

Staff: Regional Managers, Account Managers, Student Advisors

• Conduct on-site visits (North America only), and virtual work consultation for students; primary contact during work term and until student is hired for next work term where another Student Advisor will be assigned based on job location
• Work based in Canada, live in the region they serve, have expertise in their employers and their geographic area
• Service work-terms held in the US by the nearest in-region representative, who will travel across the border
• Prepare students for work terms, discuss job options, locations, goals
• Support students during recruitment process
• Retain and expand job opportunities with existing employers

2. Operations, ~$2.4 million

Staff: Service Representatives, Account Coordinators, Employment Services Representatives, Programs & Process Manager, Analyst, Technical Services Specialists

• Administrate job creation in Jobmine, scheduling, contacts, recruitment, employment cycle management (main and continuous rounds)
• Determine if external jobs are suitable for co-op credit
• Organize and schedule job interviews, work with employers on how they want their schedule to look
• Maintain co-op student and employer records
• Interview Day Services (e.g., Inquiry Desk, employer check-in)
• Front Desk Information Centre (e.g., sign-offs, referrals, general inquiry)
• Review hiring data and track employer hiring trends (e.g., frequency of hiring, preference for hiring during specific academic term, follow-up if employer’s hiring trend changes)

3. Administration, ~$1.5 million

Staff: Directors, Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant

• Direct the departmental with strategic planning and program development
• Oversee Clerical and Administrative support
• Meet with the University and at-large community representatives

4. Communication and Marketing, ~$1.3 million

Staff: Business Developers, Outreach Manager, Marketing Co-ordinators, Communications Specialist

• Recruit new employers
• Market, advertise, and promote events
• Research industry trends and market of co-op positions
• Compile employer information, session consultation, planning, and execution
• Communicate through website, social media, media, and publications (e.g., “Inside Scoop” newsletter)

5. Centre for Career Action and International Employment Relations, ~$0.7 million

Staff: First work term Career Advisors, International Account Manager, International Student Advisors, International Employment Specialist

• Preparation for student’s very first work term: co-op process training, job search training, career guidance (in-person, on-line, group workshops)
• Resume preparation counselling
• Manage international employer recruitment and relations
• Prepare for international work terms: pre-departure sessions, work permits, visas
• Provide international student work permits for employment in Canada
• Virtual check-in with International Student Advisors for students abroad

6. Student and Faculty Relations, ~$0.7 million

Staff: Faculty Relations Managers, Academic Support Units Relations Managers, Co-op Student Experience Manager, University Relations Administrator, Student Advisors

• Work with faculties regarding academic integration with co-op, policy/practice, co-op process and experience
• Determine feasibility of new programs (e.g. new Biomedical program), review existing programs
• Track student feedback and experiences
• Tend to student requests: sequence changes, plan modifications, exchanges, withdrawals
• Resource to advise students regarding Policy 70 – Student Grievances and Petitions
• Oversee co-op students employed by the University

7. Planning and Financial Management, ~$0.1 million

Staff: Financial Assistant, Analyst

• Manage budget and finances
• Analyze statistics and data
• Project, plan, and forecast for the future

SUBMIT FEEDBACK TO CECA!

Being fully funded by the co-op student body, CECA has provided the following link to students wishing to know more about how their co-op fees are used or have any other questions, comments, concerns, compliments, or suggestions in order to further improve CECA services: bit.ly/cecafeedback

(uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education/your-co-op-experience)

Other information on co-op and fees can be found at:

ceca.uwaterloo.ca

uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education/why-co-op/admissions-co-op-fee

Acknowledgements: Gabrielle Smith, Student Experience Manager; Grant O’Neill, Director Planning & Financial Management; Rocco Fondacaro, Director Student & Faculty Relations