Chemical Engineering Co-op Work Term Report Guidelines

Introduction Co-op employments are not just jobs with which students pay their way through University. They are integral parts of the students’ learning. By alternating co-op employments with academic terms, students get the opportunity not only to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations, but also to bring real-life problems and solutions back into the classroom. Every good employment should leave students feeling that they have learned new useful skills and fleshed out some of their existing skills. Truly successful employments should also bring students face to face with their limitations, giving them an opportunity to reflect on what skills they still need to develop to be effective professionals. It is hoped that this heightened confidence coupled with a clearer understanding of gaps in their skills and knowledge, will help returning co-op students select courses and possibly other co-op employments that they feel will help them become more successful. Work term reports are the means with which students can reflect on these issues. At the end of every co-op term, students have to write a report describing what they have accomplished during their co-op term and what they have learned in the process. Ideally, students should be writing their reports during their work term as they progress through their tasks and encounter challenges. At the very least, it is a good idea to keep a log of the work they have done and the problems they have encountered and possibly resolved. It is recommended that sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the work term report are checked for accuracy by the student’s supervisor in the workplace prior to submission to Ryerson. Work Term Report Format Work term reports are 10 to 15 pages long, typed, double-spaced, with 1" margins (top, bottom, and sides). They consist of 5 sections: 1. Cover Page

Use sample enclosed below.

2. Detailed Job Description This should describe the main business of the organization (you may also include some background about the organization, its history, number of employees, sales volume, future plans, etc.) and department employing you, list your duties and responsibilities during the co-op term, and briefly describe what was accomplished. 3. Challenges Encountered This should describe three main challenges you encountered in the employment and how you tackled them. This should include a description of: • what problems needed to be solved • what approaches could have been tried to solve them • what approaches would work, or were tried and worked, and why • what approaches wouldn’t work, or were tried and didn’t work, and why • what was actually done, and what was (were) the outcome(s) 4. Learning Objectives This should describe: • what you learned during the co-op term, especially while tackling the challenges

described in the previous section. The skills acquired need not necessarily be technical. They could also be interpersonal, political, organizational, attitudinal, etc.

• what you still need to learn, or could have learned that would have helped with the challenges. Again, the skills are not necessarily technical.

• what you intend to do to accomplish this learning. This does not necessarily entail taking courses at Ryerson, as learning can take many forms. It is up to you to determine what will be the most effective way to acquire the missing knowledge.

5. Applying What You Learned This should describe what part(s) of your Ryerson courses you applied in your work. For example, how did what you learned in CHE-XXX, CHY-XXX, MTH-XXX, etc., help you do your job, or do it better, faster? 6. Comments This section is optional. You can write any additional comments and/or suggestions on the co-op employment process, the employment itself, the specific courses taken at Ryerson, or the relationship between any of these elements. Comments on what works particularly well (or not) are appreciated, especially if they include constructive suggestions.

Submitting Work Term Reports Every student must write a work term report at the end of every 4-month or 8-month employment. To pass the term, a “pass” mark on this report and a minimum “satisfactory” on the Employer Evaluation Form are required.

Once received, your report will first be proof-read to check for completeness, formatting, logic, answering of questions, spelling and grammar, etc., then submitted for formal evaluation. Marks will be available by the end of the semester, at the latest.

The work term report should be submitted to the Chemical Engineering Drop-Box:

Attn: Department of Chemical Engineering 50 Gould Street, 2nd floor, Kerr Hall South KHS-241-D Or by Fax to: (416) 979-5083

Deadline for submission Co-op employer evaluations along with work term reports should be submitted to the Chemical Engineering Department Drop-box no later than the Friday of the second week of classes after completion of the work term - LATE REPORTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED:

i) for a 4-month Summer work term: the report and evaluation are due the second Friday in September.

ii) for an 8-month work term (i.e. a double back-to-back work term in the same company an position and with same supervisor) - one report and one evaluation are due the Friday of the second week of classes.

iii) for a 12-month work term (i.e. three back-to-back work terms in the same company and position and with same supervisor) – TWO reports and two evaluations are due. The first report and evaluation are due after 8-months of employment (same as ii) above); the second report and evaluation are due two weeks after the last 12-months.

Important note: If your work term report and employer evaluation are not received by the deadline, you will receive a “Fail” grade for your work term.

__________________________________________________________________________________ 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3 Tel: 416-979-5068 Fax: 416-979-5069 E-mail: ryecoop@ryerson.ca www.ryerson.ca/co-op

CO-OP WORK TERM R E P O R T

Cover Sheet

Student Name: Student Number: Program: Chemical Engineering

Work Term #(s): Term(s):

Code(s):

For co-op term #(s), term(s) and code(s) please refer to chart below:

Employer: Division/Department/Unit:

Your Job Title:

Supervisor's Name:

Supervisor’s Title:

Telephone #: Email:

Dates of Employment From: To:

Total Actual Hours Worked in this Period:

Date of Report Submission:

Work Term #: Term: Code: 1 Summer WKT 401 2 Fall WKT 500 3 Summer WKT 501 4 Winter WKT 601 5 Summer WKT 602