How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the

cooperative education Program

Hamza El Moubarik

Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane

SSC430203 Senior Capstone HRD

Dr. Karim Moustaghfir

October 14, 2022

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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

Table of contents

I. Abstract

II. Introduction

III. Literature Review and Theoretical Background

IV. Research Gap

V. Research Question

VI. Research Design: Research Method(s), Data Collection &

Sampling, Data Analysis

VII. Intended Outcomes

VIII. Timetable

IX. References
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

I. Abstract

Utilizing and adopting a co-op Program in the university would provide the university adopting

the program with an advantage. However, retaining students how to attract them to collaborate

and engage in this program would be forever a crucial part as the benefits align with work

experience. The main objective of coop programs is to produce college graduates who are

employable by giving students the chance to receive "hands-on" training in corporate and

governmental settings. The field setting is, in essence, an extension of the classroom that

introduces realism into the curriculum. Co-op programs allow the student to gain field

experience concurrently with their academic study. However, it's about the motivation of the

students as students can’t prepare for what this program upholds it’s just a discovery of what the

real world looks like and implementing the class and book materials in real-life work and gaining

experience. Yet, some issues don’t have a simple solution in textbooks. But you need to put your

hands to work on the problem and that is what demotivates students when they hit a problem or

an issue in work whiteout knowing the answer previously from their books or what they did

study them they are supposed to know all. Forgetting what they study cannot be reliable as on

some cases it can’t work in real life.

II. Introduction
The co-op program plays a crucial part in the university being the first In Morocco to implement

it. However, Students join for the experience they would gain and receive "hands-on" training in

real-world cases. Yet, when they face a problem or a misunderstanding in the workplace, they

opt to drop off the program. Yet, that creates a problem for the university that didn’t deliver

student reliable for work and for the company that lost a person who must handle a project or a

part of the work. The purpose of this study is to develop a suitable strategy on how to attract
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

freshman students to join the co-op program and to retain the students in the program with no

one dropping off.

III. Literature Review and Theoretical Background

The purpose behind this systematic literature review is to identify effective attraction strategies

and models. More specifically, it is to explore the definition of cooperative education program

and to conduct a strategy on how to attract student to apply for this co-op program. We also

explored different attraction strategies that would motivate or push students to apply for the

program. To accomplish this aim, considerable data research on the topic of Student engagement,

attraction and retentions conducted to create a base to this study. Multiple research projects to

find Scholarly articles relevant to the Subject Student Attraction and retention to be based on.

Thus, the articles were chosen based on their relevance to the topic, as they aim to understand the

relation between the engagement attraction and retention of the student for the co-op Program.

Different search engines were used to acquire different articles with different views or

perspectives and strategies for the subject for this systematic literature review: ResearchGate,

The university of Kansas libraries, Ebscohost, Google Scholar, Jstor and Sage. The following

terms were used in search strings to obtain the most relevant and interesting publications:

Student Acquisition, Student Engagement, Co-op Benefits, Tangible and intangible advantages,

Student Attraction, Student Retention, Co-op Benefits, Co-op Experiences, Problems with Co-

op. Co-op Education. For the study, after pre-selecting and reviewing some articles for quality

and relevance assessment, 20 articles were selected summarized for the purpose of the study.
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

Definitions:

Cooperative education Program

Utilizing and adopting a co-op Program in the university is a crucial part that would

provide the university adopting the program with an advantage. A "co-op" is a fixed-term

contract for numerous occupations with the same company. Traditionally, at least three

internships alternate with school sessions, resulting in a five-year degree rather than the standard

four-year degree. While pursuing a college degree, you can explore your career options and

acquire paid job experience.

The coop methodology combines periods of academic study with periods of practical

experience in study. Thus, it is intended to blend theoretical and conceptual knowledge in the

student's discipline with real world experience. The field setting is, in essence, an extension of

the classroom that introduces realism into the curriculum. Some programs require periods of full-

time field work (e.g., for a semester or longer) interspersed with periods of full-time academic at

the university. Other programs allow the student to gain field experience concurrently with their
(Buller & Stull, 1990)
academic study.

The co-op program at Al Akhawayn is an excellent method to learn how to apply for a

job, understand how your degree connects to real-world situations, get up to two years of

relevant experience, and earn money. Furthermore, Al Akhawayn's co-op program features a

simple application procedure that prepares students for their post-graduate career. Apply for

employment, interview potential employers, and then assess the process of pairing students and

employers based on their preferences. Utilizing and adopting a co-op Program in the university is

a crucial part that would provide the university adopting the program with an advantage.
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

Info sessions for co-op program:

Different Info-sessions was done to attract the interested students in the co-op program.

The info-sessions were well prepared and even the students had to meet the companies and the

students who had the opportunity to participate in a co-op program to talk about their experience.

However, it was for the purpose that the co-op information sessions were organized so that the

students can meet the different companies' representatives and get an idea about their operations.

The information session allowed students to understand what the co-op program is about, what it

will benefit them, how it works and what they should expect as an output. It was the perfect

chance for them to ask all the questions they have in mind and start enviably working towards

their goals. The aim of the information session was also to give students a glimpse of the

different ideas and visions that have been brought up by their [future co-op], giving them an idea

about what it really means to be part of an international workplace and where they are going to

work. The representatives from each company were able to share with the students how they will

get started, the challenges, key points and lessons learned, which generated a wide range of new

ideas for both them and for the companies themselves working for one of our partners after

graduation.

Limitations of a cooperative education program:

One of the biggest problems to be con- fronted is that of logistics. Working with industry

requires a major shift in mind set for educators. It is more common for industry to require a part-

time commitment from instructors and/or consultants in terms of length of service. Traditionally,

from the educator's view, most classes are very structured in terms of length, curriculum, and

expected behaviors. Teachers know what to expect. Industry, on the other hand, has "flexibility"

as its watchword and frequently doesn't under- stand college and university systems and
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

behaviors. Thus, industry's expectations of scheduling and structure are much different from
(Aikman & O’hear, 1990)
those of teacher.

From this point of view, the classroom It is time to consider personal matters for

experience and personal connection. Perspective for inspection by the public, perspective for

perspective for sound interaction, construction, and testing Disciplined inquiry requires a

hypothesis. In conclusion, the classroom becomes a place of empowerment for students as they

learn about their experiences. extend your knowledge Perspectives on behavior analysis Interact

with the outside world:

To apply what you've learned. However, if the absence of this aspect during cooperative

education is understood as simply offering a class Skill "Related" Room Instructions and

attitudes required on the work, then cooperative education is only job training, and much of its

potential has been lost. And, of course, both co-op and non-co-op students lose. Co-op students

lose because their education has been purposely limited by excluding them from academic

opportunities, and non-co-op students lose because they are denied the experiences that bring
(Hruska, 1973)
academics to life.

Co-op universities and strategic plan:

The effects of strategic planning on organizational performance were not clearly

demonstrated by a review of the strategic management literature. It is challenging to draw

definite conclusions, but evidence points to a strong relationship between strategic planning and

firm performance. Cooperation programs should perform better than programs that are not

involved in strategic planning and specific strategic management activities. The total score on the

scale of strategic planning activities for those involved in strategic planning was correlated with

the dependent variables to further investigate the effects of strategic planning. There was a
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

positive correlation between participation in strategic planning activities and the budget total per

student, the percentage of employees, the number of co-op students, and outside funding. The
(Buller & Stull, 1990)
last two dependent measures had statistically significant correlations.

Benefits to Co-op Program:

The advantages of co-op engagement have been extensively researched in the literature.

Cooperative education allows students to get job experience prior to graduation by alternating

semesters between study and employment, often completing three or five school/work rotations.

According to reference, co-op involvement provides experiential learning experiences that

improve student engagement and learning. Research shows that Students who participate in

"educationally significant activities," such as co-op, have greater levels of perseverance and

completion rates in school. Furthermore, discovered that co-op students in engineering majors

have higher cumulative grade point averages (GPA) than non-coop students. According to study

by reference, after graduation, co-op students had better begin salary. Co-op students are more

likely to be hired following graduation. revealed that co-op students had enhanced job market

chances, giving solid evidence that co-op participation rate for low ability students improves

considerably when average salary growth is low.

Furthermore, co-op students are more convinced about their job decision. These students

were more likely to have initial employment that were connected to their degree and long-term

career goals. Co-op students demonstrated increased self-efficacy, which is advantageous in

maintaining academic performance and tenacity until graduation. Also investigated student

views of classroom learning and experience learning in industry. Experiential learning benefits

include improved capacity to evaluate job aspirations realistically, a larger network of

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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

professional connections, and improved leadership abilities. Co-op students benefit from these

experiences in terms of career certainty. (B. Strubel, 2015)

IV. Research Gap

This case study would Review and analyze the AL AKHWAYN UNIVERSITY being the
first in Morocco implementing The Cooperative education Program, specifically the
Employability and Entrepreneurship Office as the link between the students and the companies.
The problem is how to attract students to join the co-op program and how to retain them from
dropping off.

AUI's co-ops strategy:

AUI will be a beacon in the Middle East and Africa for 21st Century Liberal Arts Education

with practical and sustained value and by offering the chance to their students to a Co-op

program first in Morocco – offering the best value for investment.

With the new strategic plan, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane reaffirms its dedication to leading

in providing the best value on investment for higher education in the MEA region. To an

increase extent, leading companies consider co-op programs as a recruitment strategy and a

fundamental part of their talent pipeline. These companies train students and groom candidates to

their specific standards, creating a network of proven talent that they ultimately hire to fill

permanent entry-level roles (Baharoon 2019; National Network 2015; Skrzypinski 2017).

Over the next five years, By the Co-op Program AUI will prepare Gen Z students for the unique

challenges faced in the 21st century while also nurturing them to become better people who

positively impact their communities, show professional flexibility, and live purposefully All of

that could be implemented in their new experience of the co-ops as establishing clear learning

objectives and designing activities tied to the objectives for each work term are the foundational

aspects in a structured learning plan. The objectives for practical experiences should describe
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

specific knowledge and skills that are associated with activities or specific workplace tasks to be

completed during the co-op work term. Once established, the learning objectives provide the

basis for developing a structured learning plan or outline that should consider the following key

aspects: Co-op student responsibilities should vary based on the student`s academic preparation

and co-op or other practical experience. Moreover, if the co-op program involves multiple work-

term arrangement, work assignments should not be the same throughout the entire learning

experience.

Moreover, taking into consideration the learning curve of a particular industry or

company, responsibilities assigned for the subsequent work term(s) should build upon and

exceed those of the previous one(s). For example, more complex duties requiring higher level of

thinking, projects with more significant contributions to the department/team environment, or a

new rotation in a different facet of the field can be assigned for subsequent work terms. Project-

based learning has been shown to be an effective way of engaging students in their work,

providing them with opportunities to apply the theories they learn in class, and giving them a

sense of ownership of their accomplishments. If it is a team-based project, it would also allow

the company to evaluate the students` soft skills and observe how well the students work with the

other employees.

As part of learning plan, students should be provided with access to in-house training

opportunities available to other employees, both in technical and personal development skills.

Integrating networking opportunities as part of the learning experience will not only help the co-

op students fit in and feel like part of the team, but also help them build connection and gain

personal value from the professional network.

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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

In its student-centered strategic plan for 2020-2025, AUI identifies student strengths and seeks to

utilize them to create citizen-leaders. AUI’s transformative learning experience through the

Liberal Arts residential model produces graduates with superior social intelligence and

complexity management skills, adding value to any organization in which they are employed.

However, due to the program being the first in Morocco Student Motivation to opt for this new

experience was lacking. Yet, the Monetary compensation was the main object that bring people

and push them to participate plus the experience they found themselves involved in.

Issues Faced:

Contrary to the academic benefits cited in the literature for participating in cooperative

learning, cooperative students "make planning future college projects very difficult." ''. Spending

a lot of time outside of school makes it difficult” and “dropping out or changing their major

could be in the equation.

V. Research Question

The Question that the research would be answering is:

“How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the cooperative education Program”.

Sub Research Question:

 Does the compensation alone help to motivate students to participate in the Co-op
program?
 How to retain Students in the Co-ops Program alongside the problems and lack of
motivation that they will face during this new experience?

VI. Research Design: Research Method(s), Data Collection & Sampling, Data

Analysis
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

This research is based on a two case studies “Attracting and Retaining Student Talent from

around the World: The Lived Experience in University–Industry Collaboration”

“Modeling Modeling Student Perceived Costs and Benefits to Cooperative Education

Programs (Co-ops) and Pathways to Participation”

A case study is simply a description of all applicable experiences for a specific period or

specific date (Tight, 2017). As a case study, we will grasp the complexity of a particular

example and understand its activity in crisis situations (Tight, 2017). Case studies are guided

by “how” and “why” research questions, circumstances beyond the control of the researcher,

and are confined to contemporary rather than historical contexts (Yin, 1994). Yin (1994)

adds two points related to case studies. The concept that the boundary between the real

environment and the phenomenon and context is blurred.

The triangulation approach will be used in this case study research to investigate, explain,

and confirm the best acquisition and retaining strategies for Students. In a research endeavor,

triangulation can help ensure that fundamental biases caused by using a single approach or

observer are addressed by combining theories, methods, or observers (Noble & Heale, 2019).

We developed the survey based on feedback from cooperation coordinators and pilot

interviews in spring 2014 [14]. Co-op coordinators identified several different ways for

students to participate in the program and shed light on perception issues during pilot

interviews. We also collected demographic information such as gender, race/ethnicity,

citizenship, and major. Using Qualtrics, I created a survey with a few logical steps to classify

students into three groups: 1. Current contributors 2. Students interested in the program but

not participating 3. Students not interested in research collaborative Quantitative and

qualitative approaches were used to analyze the results. The survey included closed and
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

open-ended questions about perceptions of co-ops, experiences in the process of obtaining an

internship, and demographic information.

The use of a s Sampling would be implemented and observations.

It is required to evaluate the data after collecting all the relevant data from the three ways

(observation, questionnaire, and interviews). Because the data is predominantly qualitative,

the content analysis strategy is used to determine the existence of certain words, subjects, or

concepts in qualitative data. This method may be used to evaluate and examine the existence,

meanings, and relationships of certain words or concepts. (1952, Kracauer). When it comes

to its implementation in this research, the three techniques of data collecting are integrated,

and then the relevant information is extracted using keywords.

Framework In figure: Decision Choice in Academic Strategic Planning

Researchers have used choice theory as a theoretical framework to model educational

choice. For example, choice theory has been used as a theoretical framework to model

educational choices made by students and their families. The choice of model was

described as a decision made by weighing the costs and benefits of different educational

options. This pattern explains the decrease in the gender gap in educational attainment,

while the class gap in educational attainment persists. The model was based on secondary

effects defined as individual choices rather than primary effects, including skill level. Our

goal was to explain differences in educational attainment in terms of differences in the

choices individuals make, assuming that the choices are activated by students'

expectations of the probability of each option being successful. Researchers can apply
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

this framework to analyze survey data. An analysis of how European researchers apply

rational choice theory in their studies with survey data. Key concepts in this theory

include available alternatives, expectations, costs, and benefits. Rational choice theory

assumes that individuals consider the costs and benefits of available options when

making decisions and form expectations about the consequences of those actions. For

example, a student considering cooperative education offers the costs and benefits of

participating in a cooperative program and offers the potential consequences of

participation versus those of participating in alternative activities. Researchers explain

that decisions can be attributed in two ways directly, by asking individuals about

expectations and perceived costs and benefits, or indirectly, by measuring individuals'

actions. Continuing the example above, a researcher might ask a student about the

perceived costs and benefits of cooperation or might record the student's decision to

researchers have used choice theory as a theoretical framework to model educational

decision-making. For example, choice theory had been used as a theoretical framework to

model educational decisions made by students and their families. Model choices were

explained to be decisions made by weighing the costs and benefits of different

educational options. This model explains how the gender gap in educational attainment

has narrowed, while the class gap in educational entertainment has persisted. The model

is based on secondary effects, defined as individuals' choices, rather than primary effects,

covering levels of likelihood. Aims to explain differences in educational attainment by

differences in individuals' choices, assuming that the choices are activated by students'
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

expectations of their ability to succeed in their corresponding choices. Researchers can

apply this framework to analyze survey data. An analysis of how European researchers

apply rational choice theory in their studies with survey data. Key concepts in this theory

include available alternatives, expectations, costs, and benefits. Rational choice theory

assumes that individuals consider the costs and benefits of available options when

making decisions and form expectations about the consequences of those actions. For

example, a student considering cooperative education weighs the costs and benefits of

participating in a cooperative program and weighs the potential consequences of

participation against those of participating in alternative activities. Researchers can

evaluate decisions in two ways. Directly by asking individuals about their expectations

and perceived costs and benefits, or indirectly by measuring their behavior. Continuing

the example above, researchers can ask students about the costs and benefits of

collaboration and can record the student's decision to choose whether to collaborate. We

supported the use of both strategies in our studies. A study of student social class and

educational decisions through rational choice theory. Analysis of decision-making in

French schools when choosing secondary education. We suggest that students and

families present the costs and benefits of a level of education and the likelihood of

completing that level. In accordance with the “relative risk aversion” model, students are

expected to analyze the benefits of each component in the context of maintaining social

class status. Bivariate analysis to explore potential associations between social class and

several variables related to decision making. Use the methods above to understand how
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

students perceive the costs and benefits of joint participation in this research. (B. Strubel,

2015)

Three separate data gathering approaches are used to get data from the firm that will help me

build a better appropriate recruiting procedure, representing the Triangulation approach to data

collection. Triangulation is defined broadly as "a combination of approaches in the analysis of

the same phenomenon." As a result, organizational researchers may improve the accuracy of

their evaluations by collecting many forms of data connected to the same phenomenon.The

observation approach is used to investigate the phenomenon, which is a technique that allows for

the analysis of employees' behavior as well as their performance (Schreiber & MacDonald,

1997). Since I was put in the shoes of the employees, I utilized the observation approach to

gather knowledge and, more significantly, to investigate it. The observation procedure is utilized

in the appendices section to ensure efficient observation.

The questionnaire approach is used to explain the data acquired through observations since it is a

quick way to get the results needed. The questionnaire technique is a research instrument with

less time constraints, and because firm personnel are highly busy with their jobs, acquiring a

basic questionnaire that does not require much of their time is a good idea and answers

(Schreiber & MacDonald, 1997). (Schreiber & MacDonald, 1997). Furthermore, because this

poll will be anonymous, people will feel more free to express themselves without fear of being

criticized. As a consequence, they will receive more valid feedback on their work, and data will

be collected from several sources at the same time. This questionnaire allows you to compare

findings and do simple data analysis and visualization to help you get the answers you need. The
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

questionnaire was distributed to all employees as soon as possible so that the internship

supervisor could gather as many responses as feasible. Finally, interviews are utilized to

corroborate the data acquired from the preceding two approaches. This approach is successful

because it is a type of primary data collection that allows me to obtain direct and precise

information about my research topic (Dilley, 2000). The flow of the interviews may be observed

in order to obtain as much information as possible from the company's people on their current

working conditions, job satisfaction, career advancement, motivation, and so on. MS teams

conducted the interviews online.

since it is the platform they used when working from home, hence all employees are familiar

with how it works I'll try to arrange them in stages dependent on manpower availability.

Employees targeted for interviews included primarily managers such as sales, logistics,

and quality managers, as well as other employees as needed to gain a comprehensive

understanding of their position.

VII. Intended outcomes

In the intended outcomes I should solve the problemata by finding a strategy of how attracting

students and how to retain them in the co-op program.

VIII. Timetable
I’m going to draft the survey /Questionnaire and interview students and companies in relation

with the co-op program.

IX. References

 Aikman, C. C., & O’hear, M. F. (1990). Ideas in Practice: Barriers to Cooperative

Education Projects. Source: Journal of Developmental Education, 14(2), 30.
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How to Attract and Retain Freshman Students in the Co-op Program.

 Buller, P. F., & Stull, W. A. (1990). Strategy and Performance in Cooperative Education
Programs. 31(3), 257–270. https://about.jstor.org/terms

 B. Strubel, J. Main, N. Ramirez, J. Davis and M. Ohland, "Modeling student perceived

costs and benefits to cooperative education programs (Co-ops) and pathways to
participation," 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2015, pp. 1-6, doi:
10.1109/FIE.2015.7344400.

 Dilley, P. (2000). Conducting Successful Interviews: Tips for Intrepid Research. Theory
Into Practice, 39(3), 131–137. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1477544

 Hruska, J. (1973). Cooperative Education: Not for Some, but for All. 48(3), 154–158.

 Kracauer, S. (1952). The Challenge of Qualitative Content Analysis. The Public Opinion
Quarterly, 16(4), 631–642. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2746123

 Leighton, P. (2009). Effective Recruitment: A Practical Guide for Staying Within the
Law: Vol. 2nd ed. Thorogood Publishing Ltd.

 Noble, H., & Heale, R. (2019). Triangulation in research, with examples. Evidence-Based
Nursing, 22(3), 67-68.

 Schreiber, R., & MacDonald, M. (1997). The Methodologies of Qualitative Research.

Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue Canadienne de Sante’e Publique, 88(3), 153–
158. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41992708

 Tight, M. (2017). Understanding Case Study Research (1st ed.). SAGE Publications.
https://www.perlego.com/book/1431361/understanding-case-study-research-pdf

 Yin, R. K., (1994). Case Study Research Design and Methods: Applied Social Research
and Methods Series. Second edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
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