Co-op and internship opportunities may soon become more ubiquitous for college students in Ohio.
Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, is seeking proposals from universities, along with community and business partners, to expand co-op and internship opportunities to Ohio public university and college students as part of the Ohio Cooperative Education and Internship Program.
The Ohio Co-op and Internship Program was proposed March 18 to keep more talented graduates in Ohio and to draw students who have moved away from home back to Ohio. The program provides Ohio businesses with highly skilled workers by allowing businesses and companies to utilize students and graduates as interns, according to Patrick McClean, associate vice chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and director of the Ohio Co-op and Internship Program.
The $250 million expansion is part of Gov. Ted Strickland's $1.57 billion bipartisan job stimulus plan announced last year. Beginning in 2010, the plan will give Ohio the largest co-op and internship program in the U.S., McClean said.
"The chancellor has proposed this plan to double the number of students in co-op and internship programs," McLean said. "Other states have co-op programs, but no other state has a program that will connect talented students with businesses and companies on such a large scale."
McClean said the program will also connect more graduates to potential employers, and in turn, boost the economy.
The Ohio Board of Regents intends for the $250 million program to last five years, with $50 million designated to each fiscal year.
The large scale of the new co-op and internship program is exclusive to Ohio.
"Other states have similar programs, but nothing this expansive," McClean said.
Since the proposal of the Ohio Cooperative Education and Internship Program, Miami University administrators have been collaborating to strengthen student opportunities.
"(We are) working together to develop a model to expand internship opportunities for Miami students," said Mark Shanley, interim vice president for student affairs. "These opportunities are beneficial to students because, in my experience, students who participate in internship experiences are offered better jobs and tend to make higher salaries."
The Ohio Co-op and Internship program will provide public colleges and universities in the state with more funding to seek out internship opportunities for students.
According to the Ohio Co-op and Internship Program proposal, the $250 million will be divided up through a proposal and evaluation grant system. After a public college or university submits a request to the chancellor's office for internships or co-op programs for students, the chancellor reviews it and then makes a decision about what programs in the state fit with the students' interests and skills.
"This new program will provide students with realistic job previews, in the form of co-ops and internships," Shanley said. "It's a real win-win opportunity because students get to try businesses on and businesses get to try students on."
