Career Development

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Johnson College has both a well-defined five (5) week spring Internship and also a Cooperative Education Experience. Both are planned learning processes that integrate technical studies with supervised work experiences. Students may be employed by industry, business, and government organizations for a specific period of time in positions related to their technical fields. Work assignments are in an environment that augments and enhances technical studies leading to an associate in science or associate in applied science degree. The Internship and Cooperative Education Experience blend theory and practice in partnership with the employer, the student, and the college. These are educational enrichment experiences.

Fundamentally, the goals of the two (2) experiences are identical. Johnson College’s Cooperative Education Experiences and Internships are designed to provide the student with responsibility on the job, commensurate with increased academic study, technical skills, and experience gained from previous semesters of classroom study and lab/shop work. Cooperative Education provides compensation to the participating student for 5 weeks or longer during the year while the Internship activity can be with or without compensation and occurs for five weeks in the spring semester.

Learning Objectives: Measuring Performance

The general objectives for all Internship and Cooperative Education work experiences are as follows:

• To associate work experience with academic learning
• To develop a solid work ethic, value and attitude
• To gain on-the-job training
• To explore career options through hands-on work experience

In addition to the general objectives, the company supervisor and faculty advisor are to assist the student in developing a well-planned series of work objectives commensurate with the goals of the student’s educational experience and the needs of the employer. The student should, with the assistance of their faculty advisor and company supervisor, carefully review the job description, noting where he/she can gain new skills, increase knowledge, or improve skills or attitudes.

Student Eligibility

In order to participate in Johnson College’s Internship or Cooperative Education Experience, the student must:

• Have at least a 2.0 grade point average
• Have completed at least 35 credits for participation in a Cooperative Education Experience and at least 50 credits for participation in an Internship Experience.

The Internship and Cooperative Education Process

1. Internship and Cooperative Education Experiences are made available to eligible students. The student must apply for the position, meet all requirements as stated by the employer and be interviewed by the employer and/or faculty advisor. Upon selection an Internship or Cooperative Education Contract naming the student and the specifics of their position is signed by the employer, the faculty advisor, the Internship or Cooperative Education Coordinator, and the student. The student returns the original contract to the Career Services Office or the faculty advisor.
2. The student works productively according to a schedule and commitment agreed to by the employer and Johnson College. The student must document hours worked by completing a Time Accounting Report with the approval of the employer.
3. A faculty advisor visits the employment site at least once during the semester to discuss the student’s progress. From this, the faculty advisor completes a written evaluation.
4. The employer is asked to complete a written evaluation of the student near the end of the work experience. The evaluation is taken into consideration when the faculty advisor assigns the student a grade. If you have further questions about our Internship or Cooperative Education Experience, please visit, or call the:

Career Services Office
Johnson College
3427 North Main Avenue
Scranton, PA 18508
Telephone: (570) 702-8905
Fax: (570) 348-2181
E-Mail: kcapulish@johnson.edu