OCED 4360 and OCED 4361 are challenging, fast paced and require your concentration before the semester begins and during the entire semester. Students are cautioned to enroll only in these courses in the last semester of their degree.

What is Cooperative Education?

It is an educational field activity similar to an internship, jointly sponsored by Texas State University-San Marcos and a public or private sector organization. It provides you with an opportunity to apply the theory learned in your Professional Development Module (18 hour block). Therefore, you must make sure the activity relates to the focus of the courses. In your proposal at the beginning of the course, you will be required to justify how the coop activity you select relates to your Professional Development Module. A minimum of 180 contracted hours will be spent on the COOP activity. Approximately 60 hours will be spent preparing the Proposal, Interim Report, and Final Report, and 120 hours will be spent at the work site on the project itself. Hours may be weekends, evenings, or regular daytime hours. The activity is a three-party agreement between the student, university, and the work site and each party must realize there are responsibilities and obligations that must be assumed by each of the parties throughout the semester.

Am I eligible to register?

The following prerequisites must be completed prior to enrolling in OCED 4360 and OCED 4361:

• All core curriculum and foreign language requirement (if required)
• Completion of the Occupational Emphasis and Elective modules
• 12 of the 18 hours in the Professional Development with a 2.25 GPA
• Official signed degree audit report
• Minimum of 2.00 GPA with Texas State
• Students must be in their final semester
• Attend an internship orientation the semester prior to taking 4360/4361

Do you require IRB training?

Students who will interview, survey or experiment with humans or animals during their cooperative education activity may be required to participate in human subjects training sponsored by the Institutional Review Board at Texas State University. Because Texas State University is dedicated to protecting the privacy, health and safety of all individuals, students in the OCED 4360/4361 course who may contact humans for information or experiment and interact with animals may need approval and training. We recommend that you follow the link to the IRB site and review the first page of the information. If you believe that you may require the approval from the IRB or you need to file an exemption, e-mail your OCED advisor and see if he or she would recommend that you follow up on this requirement.  

On the first page of the Institutional Review Board home page you will see the link to the application. In the event your advisor believes you should check your project with the IRB, you may go ahead and fill out the application and submit it on line. If you do NOT receive an exemption, you will be required to complete the larger application that is also listed on the IRB site. This is extensive and if you are required to complete that larger application you must discuss this with your advisor and obtain his or her permission before you submit the information. Because the IRB full review does take a length of time you may be too late to have your project approved. If you will need the Board to review your project then you need at least a semester before your take the internship to be ready to work on the internship.

Although many of the internships in OCED 4360/4361 do not require the full IRB approval as explained on the site we must be very careful to submit the application for an exemption even if we believe that there will not be a requirement to complete the full application to the board. When in doubt be certain you have interacted with your Occupational Education advisor. 

Click here for the IRB site. 

Submission of application

• If student was unable to attend the live internship orientation download the Application for Enrollment in Cooperative Education from this website.  Application in MS Word for typing OR Application in MS Word to be handwritten. 
• Complete the application and obtain the required signatures. Faculty member's signature is not required; however, if you prefer to receive approval directly from a faculty member, schedule an appointment prior to the deadline date. Appointments can be made in Round Rock at (512) 716-4541, in San Antonio at (210) 659-0954, or on campus at (512) 245-2115.
• Mail completed application to: Occupational Education, Texas State University-San Marcos, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666. The application must be mailed by the deadline date listed on the internship orientation schedule. If the application is submitted after the deadline date the student must resubmit to take the internship the following semester. A copy of the approved application will be mailed to you within 3 to 4 weeks. Once the application has been approved, you can start the literature review associated with your proposed COOP activity. Refer to the textbook (page 32) or the on-line material for additional information related to the literature review.

Registration for OCED 4360 and OCED 4361

Advance Registration - You can be given special approval to enroll during advance registration ONLY if all prerequisites have been completed and are posted to your Texas State transcript. Late Registration - You will automatically be given special approval to register if:

1. Application for Cooperative Education has been received.
2. All prerequisites have been completed and are posted to your Texas State transcript. Make sure you register for both (one for each 8 week session), and that they are on the same day. NOTE: Summer sessions of the COOP is routinely taught by two professors.

What should I do next?

Review the on-line material for the class.  There is an optional textbook, Cooperative Education by Michael J. Pierson and Stephen B. Springer, 2nd edition. We recommend students review the on-line material prior to the first day of the course. It is also valuable to begin development of the Review of the Literature for the project during the months before the course begins. (Review of the Literature is discussed in the text on page 32.) Select the organization for your COOP activity. It is your responsibility to find and select an organization to complete the COOP activity. You should choose a cooperative education site where your activities will be helpful to you in the future.

Where will I do my internship?

1. Place of Current Employment – You may complete the COOP activity at your current place of employment; however; the activity must be different job duties from the ones you normally perform.
2. Other than Current Employment – Identify three potential organizations for your COOP activity and interview at each of the three sites, if necessary. Then choose one.  If you need proof that you are a Texas State University-San Marcos student when you interview with potential agencies, contact our office and we will mail you a Letter of Introduction.
3. Potential Internship Organizations - these were prepared in April 2005 therefore some may no longer be available.

Important information from the Program Chair

Most semesters the class meets only three times; therefore, it is imperative that students attend each of the 3 classes and stay in close contact with the professor by e-mail. You may not begin working on the activity at the chosen organization until your professor has approved the proposal for the course project. This is generally in the third week of the semester. In addition, the contract must be signed by the student, the organization supervisor, and professor. There are no exceptions to this rule and hours logged prior to the contract being approved will not be counted for the course. You must pay close attention to deadlines and maintain a high degree of self-reliance.
Dr. Enrique Solic Jr., Interim Chair