In fall 2024, Management Career Services (MCS), the co-op and career services office for students in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management, reached an incredible milestone of 20,000 business work terms completed by students in the Bachelor of Commerce Co-op, Bachelor of Management Internship, and Corporate Residency MBA programs. Since 1991, these programs have produced a diverse group of alumni who have made significant contributions across industries, and their work-integrated learning experiences have set them up for success in their respective fields.
In Atlantic Canada, no one knows work-integrated learning (WIL) like Dalhousie. And at Dalhousie, no one knows work-integrated learning like the Faculty of Management, with nearly 1,000 paid work terms last year, more than any other Faculty.
Not only is Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management committed to offering a high quantity of work-integrated learning opportunities for the benefit of students – there is also a strong and long-term focus on quality. “The three business programs that Management Career Services serves are the only programs accredited by Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL) Canada at Dalhousie, and they have been consistently accredited since there were graduates from the work-integrated learning component in each program. Only then does a program become eligible for accreditation,” says Robert Wooden, Director of MCS.
CEWIL Canada is the lead organization for work-integrated learning in Canada. It partners with post-secondary institutions, community members, employers, government, and students to champion work-integrated learning. Since 1973, CEWIL Canada members from post-secondary institutions across the country have worked in partnership to develop resources to promote the highest quality of post-secondary work-integrated learning programs.
“We thank Dalhousie for its ongoing leadership in Canadian co-operative education and adherence to the CEWIL Canada criteria and standards of quality,” says Claudia Sperling, Chair of the CEWIL Canada Accreditation Council. “The review team was impressed with many of Dalhousie’s practices, including all three programs reporting a high job securement rate of 94.5% to 100%.”
To meet accreditation requirements, work-integrated learning programs must ensure each work term is a full-time, paid opportunity that is developed in partnership with the employer and approved by the co-operative education program as a suitable learning environment. Students’ progress during their work term is monitored by the co-operative education program and students are assessed by the employer partner as well as by the institution, which includes self-reflection. Self-reflection can facilitate the learner’s understanding of their own knowledge, skills, attributes and contributions to the workplace and enhance learning from the workplace to the classroom setting.
MCS’ Director, Robert Wooden, is the current Past Chair of the CEWIL Accreditation Council of 51 CEWIL Canada Member Institutions with accredited programs, further strengthening MCS’ dedication to the value of accreditation. In 2023, CEWIL Canada renewed and refreshed its accreditation standards for co-operative education programs, which Dalhousie played a role in with Robert as Chair of the review team of the first accreditation application under the new standards. “CEWIL’s new co-operative education standards bring in a focus on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility as well as a Commitment to Continuous Improvement,” says Wooden. “The review and revision of our standards was exciting and important work that took in feedback from hundreds of Canadian co-op practitioners.”
Work-integrated learning is a strategic priority for Dalhousie University and the Faculty of Management, as evidenced by its strong presence at the institutional, faculty, and program levels and by Dalhousie’s commitment to work-integrated learning in our strategic plan. Management Career Services is not only instrumental in supporting students with career exploration, career development, pre-WIL preparation, and evaluation of their WIL experiences, but they assist organizations large and small achieve their early talent acquisition goals.