You just secured a job, congratulations! In co-op, we refer to a ‘work term’ as a 4-month period where you are working full-time at a co-op job, instead of studying. Work terms are typically categorized by season – Winter (January to April), Summer (May to August), and Fall (September to December). You may end up working at a company for 1 to 3 work terms (i.e., 4 to 12 months) consecutively.
For each work term that you are on, there are certain co-op program deliverables you’ll need to complete to successfully pass the work term, in addition to meeting the expectations of your role with your employer. Here are the main deliverables for each work term you are responsible for as a co-op student:
Before the Work Term
Understand common workplace expectations and how to navigate the professional landscape
Start of Work Term
Meet with your supervisor to discuss your responsibilities, workplace expectations, and your learning objectives
Middle of Work Term
Check-in with the co-op program and complete your work term assignment
End of Work Term
Complete the student evaluation and review your supervisor's feedback to reflect on your work term
If your work term is longer than 4 months, you will repeat this process for the next work term by reviewing your workplace priorities and learning objectives, submitting the work term assignment, and completing the end-of-term evaluations.
For a more detailed checklist of work term deliverables, visit the Graduate Work Term Checklist page.