Co-op for Students

What is Co-op?

Cooperative Education, or co-op, is a unique kind of education at RIT Croatia. As the keystone to experiential education, a co-op gives you the opportunity to apply what you’re learning in the classroom through meaningful work experience.

An RIT Croatia Co-op in Industry is:

  • Full-time ( hours or more per week)
  • Typically paid employment
  • Directly related to your field of study
  • Tuition-free
  • Part of your academic schedule
  • An off-campus experience where a student is immersed in the workplace

Co-op gives you the opportunity to:

  • Help define your career path after graduation
  • Apply the theory you are learning in your coursework to real, professional situations
  • Earn a reasonable salary, which will help finance your education
  • Develop additional technical skills and enhance vital soft skills
  • Network with team members and professionals in the company to help accelerate your future job search
  • Standout to recruiters in your full-time employment search after graduation with an experience that can elevate your starting salary, compared to other entry-level candidates

Co-op Registration Forms and Instructions

Co-op timeline for summer semester of academic year 2023/2024 students should follow:

If a co-op is a self-found one (not through the Career Services Office), it is mandatory to submit an offer letter provided by the employer. An offer letter has to be submitted for the following co-op models:

  • Traditional - in-company self-found co-op placement (there is no offer letter template provided by the RIT Croatia Career Services office. Each offer letter has to be submitted on a company letterhead)
  • Remote - self-found co-op placement (there is no offer letter template provided by us. Each offer letter has to be submitted on company letterhead)
  • Entrepreneurial – working in a self-found, established business. The entrepreneurial co-op assignment has to adhere to certain standards and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Students have to check credit hour standing as it is required to have 55 credits at the end of the spring semester of the sophomore year in order to be eligible for the co-op in the summer semester.

Based on the offer letter co-op will/will not be officially approved and if minimum requirements are met student will be able to continue with the registration process.

The offer letter should consist of:

  • The starting and ending date of the co-op, has to be a 10-week period minimum (GBM/IB, WMC, HTM majors) and a 5-week period minimum for NMD major;
  • 40 hours per week, full-time (8 hours per day, 5 days per week);
  • Name of mentor;
  • Detailed job description (job tasks, duties, and responsibilities and in which department the student will be working);
  • The letter should be stamped and signed by the company representative.
  • Please email the offer letter to the Career Service office two weeks before the official co-op starts at the following email address cscro@rit.edu

Important Information on registration dates and forms:

  • The Co-op start date has to be between May 13, 2024 (the earliest) and June 24, 2024 (the latest).
  • Students enrolled in Maymester and/or June Summer semester cannot do the co-op at the same time. They can start with the coop after they complete the Maymester term.
  • A minimum co-op length is 10 weeks for GBM/IB, WMC, and HTM majors and 5 weeks for NMD major;
  • Students required to fulfill co-op during the academic year 2023/2024 summer semester, are also required to register co-op by sending the Co-op Registration Form at the latest by the end of the 1st week of your co-op employment.
  • View the general al co-op overview in steps and phases.

RIT Croatia Cooperative Education Student Handbook

To navigate Co-op rules more easily, we encourage students to go over the RIT Croatia Cooperative Education Student Handbook.

RIT Croatia Cooperative Education Bylaw

As a student participating in the RIT Croatia Cooperative Education Program, it is expected that you are behaving in accordance to the RIT Croatia Cooperative Education Bylaw on and off campus and operating according to accepted business ethics and standards while on co-op. By not following the RIT Croatia Cooperative Education Bylaw, you accept the consequences of not obtaining your degree.

FAQ

The co-op position has to be related to your field of study and match your previous work

experience level (if you have any). If you obtain a co-op position on your own, you need to submit the offer letter to the Career Services Department (before accepting the actual job). Once your co-op is approved by the Career Services Department, you may continue with the co-op registration process.

No. The co-op program is mandatory at RIT Croatia and the responsibility of finding and completing the co-op rests with you. Also, you are not directly placed into a co-op position, but rather you apply and go through the same hiring process you will have once you start looking for a job after graduation (which is great practice). The Career Services Office will facilitate many co-op opportunities and help you with the search and placement procedure.

The minimum co-op requirement per single co-op block is at least ten weeks at 40 hours per week (total of minimum 400 working hours over the course of ten weeks) for GBM, IB, WMC, HTM majors, and at least five weeks at 40 hours per week (total of minimum 200 working hours over the course of five weeks) for NMD major.

Standard USA-based academic credit is not given for co-op.  However, you will receive a grade for a registered co-op. Based on the employer evaluation and co-op requirements, you can get two grades: “S”- satisfactory or “F”- failure. You will receive a grade “S” if the minimum co-op requirements have been met and the employer evaluation is satisfactory. You will receive a grade “F” if the minimum co-op requirements have not been met if the employer evaluation is unsatisfactory, or if the Career Services Office witnesses that during a co-op check, you are not working at your registered co-op.

Not all co-ops are paid and this varies from employer to employer. The level of co-op salary also differs and it is ultimately up to the employer to decide. Mostly, employers base it upon comparable co-op salaries and a candidate's experience. As a benchmark, below you may find the approximate hourly rates of co-op salaries in Croatia from Student Centre: Administrative jobs 4,38€, Accounting jobs 4,50€; Restaurant jobs 4,38-7€; Customer care/Call center jobs 4,38-6€; Sales jobs 4,38-7k€; Tourism jobs 4,38-8€; IT jobs 4,38-8€.

You are advised to visit the Career Services Office as soon as you feel concerned about your co-op placement. We will evaluate the co-op search, make suggestions, and provide additional service that will assist you in meeting your goals. Please make sure you address your concerns with Career Services Office at least a month before the actual co-op start date, so we can look into assisting you.

Effective for students first enrolling at RIT Croatia as of the 2021-22 academic year to HTM, GBM/IB, and WMC program, 12 ECTS points are earned for each co-op course. For students enrolled prior to the 2021-22 academic year, no ECTS points are assigned to co-op. Students enrolled in NMD major will receive 6 ECTS points for each co-op course.