On Dec. 7 the Board of Regents approved an increase in the co-operative education work-term fee from its current rate of $323 per work term to $600 per work term for all domestic full time undergraduate co-operative education program students, effective September 2018.

New students as well as current students who will be in co-operative education programs in fall 2018 will pay the increased fee.

The work term fee for international students of $1,020 will not change.

Fee covers a portion of the costs

“While co-operative education programs at Memorial receive operating funding, the university’s current fiscal environment has eroded available resources for co-operative education, making it difficult to sustain student service levels in these programs,” said Dr. Noreen Golfman, provost and vice-president (academic).

“The revenue from the fee increase will go towards ensuring the units offering co-operative education programs can continue to offer first-rate, personalized services to students before and during their work terms.”

Memorial’s co-operative education program work term fee covers only a portion of the cost of delivering the programs. Furthermore, the current domestic student co-operative work-term fee of $323 and the increased fee of $600 are well below the Canadian university average of $731.

The incremental revenue from the fee increase will allow units that support co-operative education programs to provide enhancements in several areas of student mentorship and job development, including but not limited to professional development seminars that provide training and skill development for workplace success; individual mentorship for independent job searches and personalized target marketing to help students secure employment, nationally or internationally; and mentorship and support during co-operative education work terms, including formative assessment of skill development and assistance in resolving workplace issues.

Students enrolled in co-operative education programs will not be required to pay the campus renewal fee during the semester they are on a work term.