XX. BBA Co-Op Option

The Curriculum

The Faculty of Business offers a Co-operative Education option within the BBA program. While the program is designed to be completed in four years, students may take longer to complete the program. Students may also major and take the Co-op option. Consistent with the philosophy of Co-operative education, the program is designed to alternate study terms and relevant work terms, as follows:

Co-op Program Academic / Work Term Sequence

 

Fall Winter Spring/Summer
Sept-Dec Jan-April May-Aug
Year 1 Academic Term 1 Academic Term 2
Year 2 Academic Term 3 Work Term 1 Academic Term 4
Year 3 Work Term 2 Academic Term 5 Work Term 3
Year 4 Academic Term 6 Academic Term 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every co-op student shall complete three work terms with full-time academic semesters directly before and after each work term. The co-op program considers students full-time if they are enrolled in at least 12 credit-hours of course-work, not including the work term reports: BA 2903 , BA 3903 or BA 4903 , or any required ESL support courses. Academic course requirements and work terms are listed in Table A.

TABLE A: Example of a typical student's program:
First Year

Fall Term (September - December)
BA 1501 Introduction to Business
MATH 1853 Math for Business I
ECON 1013 Intro to Economics - Micro
Social Science elective*
Humanities or Language Elective*

Winter Term (January - April) 
BA 1605 Business Decision Analysis I
ECON 1023 Intro to Economics - Macro
BA 1216 Accounting for Managers I
Social Science elective
*Humanities or Language Elective*

Second Year
Fall Term (September - December)
BA 2217 Accounting for Managers II
BA 2504 Introduction to Organizational Behaviour
BA 2606 Business Decision Analysis II
Business Electives or Option Courses** - 9 ch

Winter Term (January - April) 
Work Term I

Spring/Summer Term (May - August)
BA 2303 Principles of Marketing
BA 2858 Introduction to Human Resource Management
BA 2903 Work Term Report I
BA 3425 Managerial Finance
BA 3623 Management Science: Deterministic Models
Business Electives or Option Courses - 6 ch

Third Year
Fall Term (September - December)
Work Term II

Winter Term (January - April)
BA 3304 Marketing Management
BA 3653 Production and Operations Management
BA 3672 Introduction to Management Information Systems
BA 3705 Business Law BA 3903 Work Term Report II
Business Electives or Option Courses - 6 ch

Summer Term (May - August) 
Work Term III

Fourth Year
Fall Term (September - December) 
BA 4101 Competitive Strategy
BA 4903 Work Term Report III
Business Electives or Option Courses - 15 ch

Winter Term (January - April) 
Business Electives or Option Courses - 15 ch

Notes: 

* All students must include BA 1501 within their first 30 ch; 6 ch chosen from the Social Science disciplines of Anthropology, Political Science, Psychology or Sociology within their first 60 ch, and 6 ch from the Humanities and Languages disciplines of Classics, English, French, German, History, Humanities, Latin, Philosophy or Spanish within their first 60 ch.

** Option courses may be selected from the offerings of any faculty provided that the selections are in accord with regulations X. (3) and (4) of the Business Administration Curriculum and Degree Requirements of the university calendar, and provided they are approved by the Faculty of Business.

The sequence of academic terms and work terms outlined above is not flexible. Only in unusual circumstances will the Director or Coordinator of the Co-op Program approve deviation from the regular sequence.

If students' course selections deviate from the schedule above they are responsible for obtaining academic advising from either a Faculty of Business or Co-op advisor. Students are responsible for their own academic planning and course selection.

Each work term is normally 12 to 16 weeks in duration. 

Admission

Students must apply for the Co-op program during their second semester. Entrance to the Co-op program is a four-step process, as follows:

Step One: Academic Achievement - Obtain a B- (2.7) average or higher after their first year to be eligible for the entry-level Professional Development Workshop Series.

Step Two: Professional Development - Successfully complete all required elements of the entry-level professional development seminars (PDSs).

Step Three: Mock Job Interview - Pass a mock job interview

Step Four: The Job Competition - Obtain a position for Work Term One.

Students who are unsuccessful in any one of the four steps will remain in the traditional BBA program. To remain eligible for each Co-op work term, students must attend and complete assignments for all mandatory professional develop seminars in academic terms three, four and five.

For additional details and for information pertaining to transfer students, please read the Co-op students' handbook available from the Faculty of Business, P.O. Box 5050, Saint John, N.B., E2L 4L5. Web address: www.unbsj.ca/business.

Admissions Policy for International Students Entering the BBA Co-op Program

In addition to the above criteria, students require a TOEFL score of 550 (or equivalent) to enter the BBA Co-op program if English is not their first language.

Advancement

To complete the program and earn a Co-op designation, students must

  • maintain a minimum GPA of 2.7 (B-) throughout the program
  • successfully complete all PDSs
  • perform satisfactorily in all three work terms
  • obtain a grade of C or higher on three work term reports
If a student's GPA falls below 2.7 but not lower than 2.5 in any one academic semester directly before or after the work terms, he/she will be placed on co-op program probation. For additional information, please refer to the co-op students' handbook.

Work Term Reports

The work term report plays a pivotal role in the success of our Co-operative Education Program. Work term reports BA 2903 , BA 3903 and BA 4903 are written during the first, second and third work terms respectively. They are required courses carrying 1 credit hour each and requiring a minimum grade of C.

Students must achieve a grade of C on BA 2903 , BA 3903 and BA 4903 to be allowed to continue in the program.

Students who withdraw or are required to withdraw from the co-op program before they have completed BA 2903 , BA 3903 and BA 4903 may not use the credit from BA 2903 and/or BA 3903 and/or BA 4903 in conjunction with a lab credit toward their BBA degree.

The Co-Op Fee

A comprehensive Co-operative Education Program includes many important components. Each component provides tangible benefits which are not offered to students in the traditional BBA program. Information on fees may be found in Section C of this calendar. Co-operative Education fees are used to develop and support the following areas:

  1. Professional Development Seminars
  2. Providing feedback to students in order to help them improve performance
  3. Employer recruitment
  4. Organizing job interviews with employers
  5. Mid-Work term performance evaluations
  6. Heightening the profile of our co-op program with schools, businesses, and community

Students who do not abide by Co-op Program regulations set out in the calendar and the Co-op Students' Handbook, available from the Co-op Office, will be asked to withdraw from the Co-op Program.