Alternative Academic Experiences

Cooperative Education

Cooperative education (co-op) is a planned paid work experience that is separate from but relates to formal classroom instruction in a student’s specialized area of study. A faculty advisor is assigned to the student to assist in planning the work experience and monitoring performance. College-level co-op work experience requires developing new program-related skills, not simply performing tasks for which the student is already qualified. Employed students may be able to use their current employment for co-op experience if approved as suitable prior to registration.  All co-op credit must be approved by the faculty advisor and reviewed by the experiential learning coordinator.

Co-op can be used as elective credit for certain degree programs requiring business technology electives (accounting, business management, information technology and computer science, and media technology). Co-op credit is also available to students interested in work experience in engineering technology, or theatre and performing arts.

See the following cooperative education descriptions:

Interested students must meet the prerequisites for the appropriate co-op experience and contact the experiential learning coordinator located in the Career Services Center prior to registering. One semester credit will be awarded for a minimum of 100 hours of cooperative work experience per semester.  

A maximum of 9 semester credits may be earned in co-op work experience, field experience, and practicum in an associate degree program.

Field Experience

Field experience is a planned work activity which relates to a student’s occupational objectives and which a student takes with permission of a faculty advisor. Interested students must meet the prerequisites for field experience.

See the following course descriptions:

To register for NUET 2050 Nuclear Field Experience, students can contact the Nuclear Engineering Technology department chair.

Guided Studies Program

Lakeland’s Guided Studies Program provides students the opportunity to pursue an academic area of interest not offered through the regular college curriculum. Students in the program work individually or in a small group with a faculty member in developing projects that explore special topics in depth.

Guided Studies projects should extend beyond the scope of required work in credit courses and may not duplicate the content of an existing college course. Guided Studies projects are limited to three credit hours each, and students may apply a maximum of six Guided Studies credits toward an associate degree program. Students must also have completed at least 30 credits of study prior to entering the program.

Students wishing to take part in the Guided Studies Program must develop a general proposal for the project they would like to conduct and present it to an appropriate faculty member for consideration. Before registering for the program, students must obtain approval from the Guided Studies Committee for each proposal.

See the following Guided Studies courses: