CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION

Bachelor of Commerce Co-operative Education is restricted to students admitted to the Bachelor of Commerce program.

The BCom Co-op is a quota stream; therefore, admission is competitive and is not guaranteed to all qualified applicants.

Cooperative Education applicants are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• GPA
• Quantity of extracurricular/volunteer experience
• Quantity, quality and diversity of work experience

Co-operative Education opportunities are not entry level roles. Co-operative Education employers expect you to have significant previous work experience and positive references from these experiences. Co-operative Education roles are full time and may require overtime hours. We strongly recommend that you have full-time work experience before applying to the co-op stream.

Applicants with an accounting major should note that admission to Co-operative Education is significantly more competitive than other majors; therefore, admission standards for this stream may be more rigorous. This rigor reflects the reality of the job market, where the likelihood of securing a position is determined by the factors reflected in the admission criteria below.

Accounting Major

• Accounting students can apply for admission during their first or second year and be eligible to register in and complete the pre-employment course, COOP 290. Accounting students must complete ACCT 311, ACCT 322, and FNCE 301 with a 3.00 GPA before being eligible for a work term.

Human Resources Management Major, International Business Major, Management Major, Marketing Major, Legal Studies in Business Major, Supply Chain Management Major

• Bachelor of Commerce in all other majors, they will be allowed to apply for admission in their first semester at MacEwan University.

All applicants, regardless of their declared major, will present a minimum of 650 hours of paid work experience within the past three years. This work does not need to be business related and may certainly include paid experience from such fields as retail, hospitality and labour. It is highly recommended that you demonstrate your ability to work full time hours during the co-op placement.

Examples of Work Experience

These examples are designed to provide guidance on the amount of work that would equal 650 hours. Individual student experiences will vary and equivalencies will be reviewed.

• At least two work shifts of 6+ hours weekly, completed consistently over the past 18-24 months; or
• At least one full-time summer job (16 weeks, 30+ hours per week), plus one to two regular weekly part time shifts over the past 12-24 months; or
• Two full-time summer jobs (16 weeks, 30+ hours per week) in the previous two years.

Voluntary or Extra-curricular Experience

All applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in volunteer or extra-curricular activities in order to improve their competitiveness for admission into the co-op stream and in securing a co-op position. Preference will be given to experience obtained in the past three years.

International students attending Bachelor of Commerce co-op placements are considered full-time for immigration purposes and must have a co-op work permit before starting a placement. A co-op work permit is different from your study permit; it is an additional permit that authorizes international students to participate in work that is integral to their program of study.

Ask MacEwan International about the documents you need to have to apply. You should apply for a co-op work permit 4-6 months before the start of your placement as current IRCC processing times are lengthy.

1. Log in to MacEwanLife.
2. Click on the 'Business Co-op' module.
3. On the Business Co-op dashboard, scroll down to the Co-op Application section and click on the “Entrance to Co-op” link to begin the application process to the Co-op program.
4. Upload documents to complete the process.

How to apply

LOG IN TO MACEWANLIFE

• Include a current resumé with your application package.
• Ensure that your resumé demonstrates a minimum of 650 hours of paid work experience.

You can print off an unofficial copy of your transcripts as follows:

1. In myStudentSystem, go to the Academic Records tile.
2. Click on Request View Unofficial Transcript.
3. Choose report type Unofficial UGRD Transcript.
4. Click Submit.

The transcript uses a pop-up so make sure that you allow pop-ups from this website or you won’t be able to view it. The transcript will open in a separate tab and a list of all requested transcripts will appear.

Download the form from the MacEwanLife application site. Review the form, sign it and upload it to the application site. This form authorizes the Co-operative Education Office to release the information outlined about students who have been accepted to the Co-operative Education Stream to potential employers.

Please note that this document is being collected so that it can be included in the files of students who are accepted to the co-operative education stream. The request to sign the form should not be confused with an offer of admission to the Co-operative Education stream.