Journal publication

Between 2020 and 2022, the University of Waterloo rapidly hired and trained over 1000 undergraduate co-operative education (co-op) students as part of the Online Learning Assistant (OLA) Program, to support faculty (i.e., course instructors) in the transition to online teaching. Our research findings suggest that these co-op hires were incredibly beneficial to many faculty, with their efforts ultimately leading to improvements in teaching and learning.

This research study explored the kinds of friendships co-op students make on work terms and how they are impacted by remote work. We also examined the impacts of these friendships on outcomes that are important to both students and employers.  

COVID-19 has had a large impact on post-secondary work-integrated learning opportunities. It has affected both the setting in which students work (working from home) and the availability of work placement jobs and future work placement jobs. 

Relevant work experiences are central to the success of work-integrated learning (WIL) programs. This study explores students' previous experiences to identify the "building blocks" of relevant WIL work experiences.