Co-operative education is a partnership in training. The partners in the Master of Public Administration co-operative education venture are the MPA students, the employers, the program and staff directly involved, as well as the University of Manitoba/University of Winnipeg. Consistent with service and management improvement principles, the Co-op presents a unique opportunity for partnership with both Universities in meeting the need for program and policy development and research expertise in government. Experience in Manitoba and elsewhere suggests that partners are likely to benefit from several rewards which arise from their participation in co-operative education training.

Student Benefits

Student benefits include acquisition of new knowledge and skills on site; direct relationship between career employment and the total experience of the student; participation in projects to advance knowledge and practice; increased maturity and personal development linked to work skills evaluation; clarification of career options and decisions; decreased risk in employment decisions upon graduation.

Employer Benefits

Employer benefits include availability of skilled candidates; flexibility with respect to short and long term organizational needs; access to the continuing development and improvement of the MPA curriculum; ability to preview and evaluate MPA students for future employment potential through actual work performance;  part of the wider revitalization of the public service  through the addition of new ideas and talent for the future.

Program Benefits

Program benefits include enhanced relevance, to the market-place, curriculum design, content and delivery; increased likelihood of related research; exchange of ideas and expertise between academic staff and practitioners; sharper focus on the existing merger of theory and practice in the MPA program; enhanced attractiveness and competitiveness of the MPA program, both provincially and nationally.

University Benefits

University benefits include the result of the joint nature of the MPA between the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg, both institutions will benefit from the network and enhanced public profile established by program staff, employers and students; enrichment of goals and challenges available to teaching staff enhances the experience and quality of the university; options with respect to resources and costs are likely to be more easily identified, leading to enhanced decision-making ability.

To realize these benefits for all partners in the co-op process requires advanced planning and structuring of the co-op term.

Student Skills

Students applying to the MPA co-operative education option have a variety of skills to offer a potential employer. Each student's unique work experience and education offer a different combination of skills to the prospective employer. All are students of superior quality, having been selected initially at a standard higher than that set for most graduate programs. Most will have entered the MPA with a Grade Point Average of 3.5/4.0. They have all successfully completed a minimum of one year of full time studies in the MPA. In addition, the students have also completed two non-credit courses covering skills assessment, interview and job maintenance skills (mediation, dispute resolution, adapting to change). MPA students possess skills that are transferable across disciplines. All of the candidates have computer skills in a broad spectrum of applications.  Some students have strong quantitative analysis abilities with experience operating spreadsheet applications. The students all have strong backgrounds in written and oral communication, having demonstrated these skills in research papers and in the oral defence of their findings in seminar discussions. These skills provide the students with the ability to adapt to a variety of work settings. In short, the students are well prepared to undertake their co-operative work term placements.

Policy areas that have been dealt with by students in recent years have included: reform of secondary and post-secondary institutions; assessment of healthcare and the provision of adequate services in a climate of public sector restraint; issues and implications of implementing aboriginal self-government; reform initiatives in the private and public sectors; analysis of Total Quality Management initiatives in government departments; analysis and prescriptions for the reform of the Young Offenders Act; human resource management and issues related to performance evaluation; assessment issues arising out of the separation of powers in Canada with respect to fiscal arrangements (for example Established Programs Financing); analysis of alternative methods of municipal taxation and corresponding revenue-raising potential  including the feasibility of implementation of each option; and analysis of the North American Free Trade Agreement and its implications for environmental policy in Canada.  

Rules of Eligibility

Students must have satisfactorily completed one full academic year of MPA studies with full-time status. In order to be eligible, a student must maintain such full-time status throughout the course of the MPA program.  Co-op study requires that a suitable match be obtained between a student and a prospective employer. If a suitable match is not found, the student must revert to the regular MPA program.

Work Terms

The availability of co-op work terms is not guaranteed. Co-op work term assignments are of 13 weeks duration, with two work terms required.  The two work terms may be done with the same employer or with two different employers.  Work terms have been assigned course numbers within the MPA program; each work term carries three hours of credit; students are required to register for each work term with the Chair of the MPA/JDC and to pay the appropriate co-op work term fee.  The standards of evaluation for co-op work terms are the same as those for the MPA program as a whole: no course grade below (C+); maintenance of a (B) average overall.  Co-op work term course credit cannot be substituted for other course credit in the MPA. Students engaged in co-op work terms retain their full-time student status.  Students who fail to complete any work term satisfactorily will be required to revert to the normal MPA program.

Application and Employment Process

Students are asked to submit four (4) copies of their resume along with their co-op application.  Students are required to attend the two non-credit courses (skills self-assessment/interviewing; job maintenance) before they begin their first work-term.  Students are required to submit a short (5-7 line) typed profile highlighting their skills. The profile is forwarded to the prospective employer together with the resume. It should be noted  that this profile is often used by employers to create a "short-list" of candidates for the purposes of interviewing. 

Co-op students and employers are matched according to the following process:
a) employers identify positions for co-op students that are eligible to participate;
b) co-op student profiles/resumes are circulated; and/or an employer forum where employers and 
co-op  students can compare positions and preferences;
c) employment interview;
d) employer communication to the co-op director concerning the successful candidate(s), if any; job description(s) filled; terms of employment.

All co-op placements must be evaluated.  A site-visit by the Director or MPA staff designate is made early in the co-op term to ensure that the co-op assignment is off to a good start and to get employer evaluation and feedback to the co-op student. A copy of the written evaluation is to be sent to the co-op Director.  Work term assignments/research are to be evaluated by MPA staff, with feedback to the co-op student.  This also includes a post-placement interview with the employer and the co-op student and co-op student assessment of the  placement.

Co-op work terms commence May 1/June 1; September 1; January 1.  Co-op students must complete their MPA program in a term of full-time academic studies.

Questions regarding the co-op program can be directed to:

Mrs. Catharine Dunlop
MPA Co-op Coordinator
Political Studies Department
530 Fletcher Argue Building
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB
Canada R3T 5V5
Phone: (204) 474-9521
Fax:     (204) 474-7585
E-mail: cdunlop@ms.umanitoba.ca