Cooperative Education/Internship Program Report

2014-2015

Career Services

Daytona Beach, FL Campus

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Contact Information:

600 S. Clyde Morris Boulevard

Daytona Beach, FL 32114

(386) 226-6054,

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Location:

John Paul Riddle Student Center, Second Floor

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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

Methodology

Co-op and internship opportunitieswere 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 metbefore 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’sofficial 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, andtherefore 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 2014-2015academic year, students participated in 338 internships with216 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 registeredtheir 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 2014-2015Number of Internship and Employers

Students were able to earn University credit for relevant co-op or internship positions not advertised specifically through EagleHire. Studentshad 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 industriesadvertising 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

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 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 participationin 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
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
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.

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%

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

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