Cooperative Work Experience

McKenzie Hall 210, 541-917-4787, linnbenton.edu/cwe

Cooperative Work Experience (CWE) provides students with the opportunity to earn up to 12 credits per year for working or volunteering in a job related to their LBCC program of study. This allows students to gain work experience, make professional contacts and apply classroom knowledge to real-world settings. Students may be exposed to work methods not taught in the classroom and have access to equipment not typically available in the college laboratory. A primary focus of CWE is to reinforce classroom theory and provide learning experiences not available in the classroom.

No more than 24 credit hours of CWE can be applied toward an Associate of Applied Science degree or 12 credit hours for a one-year certificate of completion.

Certain programs require that students enroll in a (1) one credit CWE online Seminar class during their first term of CWE. The CWE Seminar instructs students on employability skills (soft skills), cover letters, resume writing, cover letters, safety and harassment policies and employment searches. Other programs teach the seminar criteria as part of their core classes for their degree. Students need to discuss the Seminar requirements with their program advisors.

If interested in building Cooperative Work Experience into a program at LBCC, discuss it with the program advisor and the CWE coordinator to plan the most appropriate term for registration. Students should plan their CWE the term before beginning working and allow ample time for locating a training site.