Graduation guarantee, co-op plan for engineers

The school has instituted a "graduation guarantee" for all entering freshmen and some new transfer students as of fall 1997 and this summer will launch its first co-operative education program.

The two initiatives are part of a continuing effort by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to stay competitive with peer institutions while responding to the changing needs of students as prospective employees of local and national businesses.

"The guarantee and the new co-operative education program are two important new components in the portfolio of opportunities we are offering to our students," said Mark H. Karwan, dean of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. "They demonstrate a continuing commitment to our team of students, faculty, staff and corporate partners to provide an excellent program of engineering education."

The "graduation guarantee" is the first of its type to be offered at UB.

If students follow the prescribed program for their major and remain in good academic standing, the engineering school guarantees that they will be able to complete their degrees on-time: in four years if they choose the standard four-year option or in four-and-a-half or five years if they choose the new co-op plan or the five-year option.

Any student who meets these conditions and is unable to graduate on time because courses are unavailable will be enrolled in the necessary course or courses tuition-free.

Karwan explained that if students keep up their end of the educational partnership, they should not be prevented from graduating on time because they can't get into required courses. In the event that those courses are unavailable, the school will pick up the tuition tab for the extra courses.

"With this guarantee, we are able to assure our students who maintain good academic performance that they will not be delayed from getting their degrees because courses are unavailable," he added. "Course availability has traditionally not been a problem with our curriculum, so that having this type of guarantee is very natural for us."

He said that in introducing the guarantee, the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is joining some of its peer institutions that are introducing similar measures.

The school's guarantee is dependent on students following the engineering requirements as described in the undergraduate catalog and remaining in good academic standing, also as described in the catalog.

Transfer students will have to work with their advisors to find out whether or not they are eligible for the guarantee.

While only entering freshmen and some new transfers will be covered by the guarantee, the co-operative education program will be available beginning in May to most UB engineering students who have completed the junior year.

Under the program, students will be able to supplement their academic work with nearly a year of paid, full-time work experience in their chosen fields at major engineering firms. Participation in the co-op program will extend by only half a year the time it takes for students to get their four-year degrees because two of the three work experiences will take place during the summer.

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is in the process of identifying companies to participate in the program.

"Both our corporate partners and our students have asked if we could build enough flexibility into our academic program to allow for creation of a co-op program," said Karwan. "We are proud to announce this major initiative beginning in May."

He noted that a unique aspect to UB's engineering co-op program is the UB Engineering Career Institute, which will be mandatory for all co-op students.

The institute, now in its third year, provides students with intensive "boot camp" type classes during which industry leaders teach them important corporate survival skills not covered in academic coursework.

"The pre-employment classroom work involved in the Engineering Career Institute affords our students the opportunity to learn the soft skills they'll need to be successful on the job, such as teamwork, leadership, entrepreneurialism, problem-solving, time-management, communications and total quality management," said Karwan.

During the co-op experience, each student could earn up to $20,000 while gaining the perspective and experience that only full-time employment can provide.

This summer, students in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who have completed the junior year will be eligible.

The first co-op experience will begin in May and run through September, the second begins in September and runs through mid-January and the third runs from that May until the end of August.

Each participating student will have all three co-op experiences at the same company.

In its first year, the program will concentrate on companies in Western New York. The plan is to include eventually other companies throughout the state and the U.S., providing students who come from outside of Western New York with placements in companies closer to their hometowns, if that's what the students desire.