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Cooperative

Education/Internship

Program Report

2014-2015

Career Services

Daytona Beach, FL Campus

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

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Contact Information:

600 S. Clyde Morris Boulevard

Daytona Beach, FL 32114

(386) 226-6054, careers@erau.edu

http://careerservices.erau.edu

Join us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, the Going Places blog and

Twitter!

Location:

John Paul Riddle Student Center, Second Floor

Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Co-op/Internship Advertised Positions…………………………………………………..…… 5

Historical Trends…………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Participating Employers………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Co-op/Internship Locations…………………………………………………………………………. 6

Co-op/Internship Evaluation Summary…………………………………………………………………… 6

Student Demographics……………………………………………………………………………….. 7

Co-op/Internship Average Salaries……………………………………………………………… 8

Self-assessment of Co-op/Internship Experiences………………………………………. 9

Internship/Co-op Experience……………………………………………………………………….10

Internship/Co-op Position Search…………………………………………………….………….11

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METHODOLOGY

Co-op and internship opportunities were advertised every semester through EagleHire for Embry-

Riddle Aeronautical University students. Students also had the option to create co-op or internship

experiences that were relevant to their degrees and approved by their academic departments.

Specific criteria must have been met before a student could pursue the advertised experiences,

including minimum GPA, credit hour requirement and academic standing status. Once students

accepted internship or co-op positions, they could register the experiences for University credit

and be part of the University’s official Cooperative Education/ Internship Program. Several factors

impacted the students’ decisions to register for credit hours, including employer requirements,

academic requirements, academic needs and financial aid. Students who enrolled for University

credit worked with the Career Services Office to accomplish the registration process. This

Cooperative Education/Internship Report captured the data of students who worked with the

Career Services Office to register their experiences. The data reflected the summary of fall, spring

and summer information for the academic year 2014-2015.

Many students elected to complete co-ops or internships without registering for University credit,

and therefore would not be included in this report. The First Destination Report captured the total

number of students, regardless of whether they registered or not, at the time of graduation who

self-reported the completion of co-op and internship experiences.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

During the 2014-2015 academic year, students participated in 338 internships with 216 employers

in the Embry-Riddle Cooperative Education/Internship Program. Of the students who participated

in an internship, 161 students self-reported their internship information by submitting the Career

Services administered survey. The term participation was defined as those students who

registered their experiential education opportunities for University credit through the official

Cooperative Education/Internship Program. Employer participation was defined as those

companies who hired the registered students. The summer semester had the highest participation

rate.

Graph 1: Academic Year 2014-2015 Number of Internship and Employers

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Fall 2014 Spring 2015 Summer 2015

77 72

189

41 42

133

Total Students

Total Employers

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Students were able to earn University credit for relevant co-op or internship positions not

advertised specifically through EagleHire. Students had the ability to create their own relevant co-

op or internship positions, and they often found opportunities through company websites. Many

of the employers in industries advertising positions relevant to Embry-Riddle degrees required an

online application and did not advertise positions through EagleHire. More than half of the

positions registered for University credit were self-created.

Graph 2: Comparison of Self-created and EagleHire Co-op/Internship Positions

Historical Trends

Historically, the Cooperative Education/Internship Program had consistent participation rates from

both students registering for credit and employers hiring the students, with a slight increase each

year.

Graph 3: Number of Internships and Employer Participation, Historical Data

53%47% Self-created

EagleHire

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

216

254274

296315

338

144

173192 190 198

216

Total Students

Total Employers

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Participating Employers

The top seven companies who employed students registered in official University co-op or

internship experiences were as follows.

Table 1: Top Seven Employers

American Airlines Gulfstream

Delta Airlines NASA (all facilities)

General Electric/GE Aviation Piper Aircraft

Southwest Airlines

Co-op/Internship Locations

The locations of the co-op and internship experiences were located in 27 different

states/territories, and 17 countries were represented, including the United States, Cambodia,

Canada, China, Croatia, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Saudi

Arabia, South Korea, Switzerland, and the UAE. The top locations were as follows.

Table 2: Top Six Locations

Abroad Georgia

California Michigan

Florida Texas

Co-op/Internship Advertised Positions

Co-op and internship positions were advertised via the career management system, EagleHire, as

well as various alternative sources which include, but are not limited to: Facebook, LinkedIn,

Twitter, digital media boards around campus, faculty/staff, and student organizations.

Employer Evaluation of Co-op/Internship Students

Based on Performance Evaluation feedback from employers, 90.53% of the supervisors would hire

the co-op/internship students once they completed their degrees and/or ratings needed for full-

time positions.

CO-OP/INTERNSHIP EVALUATION SUMMARY

Student Demographics

Students from many of the degree programs were represented through their participation in the

Cooperative Education/Internship Program. Students voluntarily submitted a Co-op/Internship

Evaluation to Career Services, which resulted in the following information (n= 161). The college

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representing the highest percentage of participation in the Co-op/Intern Evaluation was the

College of Engineering.

Graph 4: Student Participation by College

Based on the Co-op/Internship Evaluation submission, the top four degree programs represented

with co-op/intern evaluation statistics with participation in the Cooperative Education/Internship

Program were the Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Homeland

Security, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and Master/Master of Science in

Aerospace Engineering.

Table 3: Student Participation in the Co-op/Intern Evaluation by Degree Program

Degree Program # of Student Participation

AS Aviation Maintenance Science 2

BS Aeronautical Science 10

BS Aeronautics 5

BS Aerospace & Occupational Safety 8

BS Aerospace Engineering 76

BS Air Traffic Management 1

BS Applied Meteorology 1

BS Aviation Business Admin 5

BS Aviation Maintenance Science 4

BS Business Administration 6

BS Civil Engineering 2

BS Commercial Space Operations 6

BS Communication 5

BS Computer Engineering 1

51%

27%

10%

12%

College of Engineering

College of Aviation

College of Arts and

Sciences

College of Business

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BS Electrical Engineering 3

BS Engineering Physics 1

BS Homeland Security 37

BS Human Factors Psychology 12

BS Interdisciplinary Studies 3

BS Mechanical Engineering 21

BS Operational Meteorology 2

BS Software Engineering 2

BS Unmanned Aircraft System Science 4

M Bus Admin Aviation Management 4

M Business Administration 11

M Software Engineering 9

M/MS Aerospace Engineering 16

MS Aeronautics 5

MS Aviation Finance 2

MS Electrical & Comp Engineering 5

MS Human Factors & Systems 2

MS Mechanical Engineering 8

Co-op/Internship Average Salaries

During the 2014-2015 academic year, the average annual salary for all degree programs was

$15.72 based on 168 responses. The Bachelor of Science in Unmanned Aerial Systems had the

highest average salary with $21.39 per hour. There were specific opportunities in some of the

degree programs where the students received academic credit but they were unpaid.

Table 4: Average Salary by Degree Program

Degree Program Mean Total

Number

BS Aeronautical Science 9 $11.51

BS Aeronautics 3 $12.33

BS Aerospace & Occupational Safety 5 $16.92

BS Aerospace Engineering 66 $17.22

BS Aviation Business Admin 4 $11.63

BS Aviation Maintenance Science 3 $12.17

BS Electrical Engineering 3 $15.50

BS Homeland Security 6 $18.02

BS Human Factors Psychology 10 $16.18

BS Interdisciplinary Studies 3 $10.33

BS Mechanical Engineering 17 $18.08

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BS Unmanned Aircraft System Science 4 $21.39

M Bus Admin Aviation Management 3 $11.12

M Business Administration 5 $16.56

M Software Engineering 9 $19.94

M/MS Aerospace Engineering 11 $20.22

MS Mechanical Engineering 7 $18.08

Self-Assessment of Co-op/Internship Experiences, Before and After Comparison

Students rated various attributes before they began the co-op or internship. Students re-evaluated

their attributes after the co-op/internship experiences to assess their learning.

Graph 5: Self-Assessment, Before and After Comparison (scale 0-10 with 10 being the highest)

Co-op/Internship Experience

Students were asked to evaluate their overall experience at the internship or co-op. Areas

evaluated included: professionalism, educational value, technical skills, and satisfaction with the

Career Services Office. Students were also asked to indicate where they found their internship or

co-op experience.

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

7.36.7

7.17.6

8.07.5 7.3 7.4

8.4 8.5 8.5 8.6 8.8 8.6 8.5 8.4

Before

After

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Table 5: Evaluation of Professionalism

During my internship/co-op experience: Always Sometimes

# % # %

I learned the value of the corporate culture and

understood the company’s mission

244 92% 22 8%

I was treated as a professional team member 246 92% 21 8%

I had the opportunity to network 206 77% 59 22%

I experienced growth as a professional 245 88% 32 12%

I engaged in a meaningful learning experience 248 89% 29 10%

I experienced personal growth 244 88% 33 12%

I was informed of company policies and safety

regulations

239 90% 26 10%

I approached my work with honesty integrity and

trust**

11 100% 0 0%

I demonstrated a positive attitude** 10 91% 1 9%

I followed all safety rules and regulations** 10 91% 1 9%

**A portion of Fall 2014 respondents received a form with alternate questions

Table 6: Evaluation of Experience

Academic Year 2014-2015 Exceptional Worthwhile N/A To Degree

# % # % # %

Did you feel that the educational value/merit of your experience was:

104 68% 47 31% 2 1%

As a result of your ERAU education, did you feel that your technical skills were:

133 48% 142 52% 0 0%

Table 7: Level of Satisfaction with Career Services during the Co-op/Intern Process

Summer 2014 # %

Good 216 82%

Average 45 17%

Poor 3 1%

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Co-op/Internship Position Search

Students were asked how they identified their co-op/internship positions. The top three common

responses were Friend/Family Member (23%), ERAU Career Services Office/EagleHire (18%), and

Company Website (17%).

Graph 6: Co-op/Internship Sources

*Respondents were able to select more than one option

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

4850

29

64

35

8

23

9

16

3

Company website

ERAU Career Services

Office/EagleHire Network

Faculty/academic department

Friend/family member

Industry/Career Expo

LinkedIn

On-Campus Company Info

Session/Interview

Online job board

Professional conference

Social Media