A Web-based system to document learning outcomes in a mandatory cooperative education program

For 97 years, paper evaluations have been an essential tool for University of Cincinnati co-op faculty to track and evaluate a student´s learning progression resulting from co-op experience. However, large-scale studies involving large numbers of students and employers were prohibitively labor intensive. This year an online evaluation system has been created so that large-scale studies of the effects and benefits of cooperative education can more easily be monitored and reported. This system will provide digital records of student and employer assessment data as well as the capability to analyze this data on a much larger scale to better document the pedagogic benefits of co-op for students. In addition, this system will allow for improved feedback to degree granting colleges and the ability to generate new surveys easily and quickly for evaluation of new experiential learning methods or developing market trends. This paper will address the development, function and potential impact of this online evaluation system.