Table of Contents
|
Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids
|
| Collection |
| Title: |
Division of Cooperative
Education Records |
| Dates: | n.d., 1914-1996 |
| Call Number: | A16 |
|
Historical Note
|
|
Northeastern University has been a leader in the national and international cooperative education movements from the time of its affiliation with the YMCA. Northeastern administrators have testified before Congress regarding the program, and have been officers of both the National Commission of Cooperative Education and the Cooperative Education Association. In addition, President Kenneth Ryder was the founding chair of the World Council on Cooperative Education (1975-89). The cooperative education program, and the commitment to the idea of cooperative education have been a fundamental part of Northeastern University since the program's inception in 1909.
The need for a cooperative form of education was first recognized in 1900, by Herman Schneider. The University of Cincinnati approved Schneider's cooperative program in 1905. Northeastern University (originally the Boston YMCA Evening Institute) was the second college in the United States to adopt such a plan. In 1909 the YMCA opened the Day School of the Polytechnic Institute, which offered a cooperative engineering program. Advantages to this program were the ability to earn one's way through college, the opportunity to gain practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge, and a chance for students to become acquainted with their chosen field.
Initially, the program was confined to the college of engineering and administered by the Dean of Engineering. In 1919, however, the school hired a Director of Engineering Practice, Philip C. Nash, who assumed responsibility for the cooperative engineering program. The concept grew in other departments as well. The Day School of Business initiated a cooperative program in 1924, and new colleges such as Liberal Arts (1935) and Education (1953) were founded with a cooperative component. By 1928 a separate Department of Cooperative Work had been established, with Winthrop E. Nightingale as director.
In 1959 the department was renamed Department of Cooperative Education, and by 1965 it was transformed into the Division of Cooperative Education. The Division was comprised of three units: the Department of Cooperative Education, which maintained Northeastern's cooperative program, the Department of Graduate Placement, which provided placement services for seniors and alumni, and the Center for Cooperative Education, which was responsible for outreach. The Center provided consulting services to outside organizations that wished to create, improve, or expand cooperative programs.
In the 1970s, other units were added to the Division. The Cooperative Education Research Center, directed by James Wilson, was created in 1973. In addition to statistical and analytical research concerning cooperative education and its effectiveness, the Research Center maintained an Information Clearinghouse of cooperative education publications. The Institute for Off-Campus Experience and Cooperative Education was also initiated in 1973, with the Center for Secondary School Work Experience Programs following in 1976. The first arranged cooperative experiences for students from other colleges, the second for secondary school students. The Division occupied its own buidling in 1976, when the Russell B. Stearns Center for Cooperative Education was completed.
The Department of Cooperative Education also expanded its services during these years. The Life Career Planning Program was designed to assist cooperative students with career planning. The Office of International Cooperative Education also existed as a unit of the department at this time. Under the direction of Professor Stephen Kane, the department had placed students in Israel since 1971. By 1982, the Office of International Cooperative Education had initiated exchanges with Austria, Germany, Fance, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The Office of International Cooperative Education operated independently for many years but officially became a unit of the Division in 1994. Currently, the Division consists of International Coop, Career Services, and the Cooperative Education Department. |
|
| Bibliography |
|
Barbeau, Joseph E. Second to None: Seventy-five Years of Leadership in the Cooperative Education Movement. Boston: Northeastern University Custom Book Program, c. 1985. CALL NUMBER: LB 1029.C6B35 1985
Frederick, Antionette. Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant: 1959-1975. Boston: Northeastern University Custom Book Program, c. 1982. CALL NUMBER: LD4011.N22F7X
—Northeastern University, Coming of Age: The Ryder Years, 1975-89. Boston: Northeastern University, c. 1995. CALL NUMBER: 4011.N22F732
Marston, Everett C. Origin and Development of Northeastern University, 1898-1960. Boston: Northeastern University Press, c. 1961. CALL NUMBER: LD4011.N22M3 |
|
|
