Welcome to Saddleback College's Cooperative Work Experience Education Program!

This student workbook has been prepared to provide you with all the pertinent information and forms necessary to meet the course requirements.

DISCLAIMER: At Saddleback College, each CTE program manages CWE a bit differently. Some provide CWE as a capstone course to a certificate or degree. Some accept CWE on an individual basis. Some offer CWE during the Summer and others do not. If you have a question about this, contact the Department Chair in the academic program of your internship.

Course Descriptions

Catalog Description

Hands-on experience in business management. Provides basic to intermediate level opportunities for students to extend and apply their business management learning in a workplace environment. Students may enroll in a maximum of 8 units of cooperative work experience education per semester, for a lifetime maximum of 16 units. Students must work 75 paid hours or 60 non-paid hours per unit earned.

Learning Objectives

Students participating in this class will: 

  1. Write measurable learning objectives specific to the workplace assignment.
  2. Communicate ideas and express self with superiors and co-workers orally and in writing.
  3. Apply learning about adapting to a new environment, company styles/culture, dress/grooming, habits for success, workplace interpersonal skills, teamwork, decision making and problem solving, and other soft skills included in course content to this workplace experience. 
  4. Apply techniques and procedures learned in the educational environment to the work experience assignment.
  5. Follow company policies and procedures for the workplace assignments.
  6. Complete assigned tasks by following directions and using occasional independent judgment.
  7. Prioritize assigned tasks and use independent judgment to meet deadlines.
  8. Use guided decision-making to solve problems.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing this course satisfactorily will be able to:

  1. Write measurable learning objectives.
  2. Communicate ideas and express self with others in the workplace orally and in writing.
  3. Behave appropriately in a workplace.
  4. Follow business policies and procedures.
  5. Follow directions and use occasional independent judgment.
  6. Prioritize assigned tasks and use independent judgment to meet deadlines.
  7. Use guided decision-making to solve problems.

Student CWE Training Hours

A timesheet will be submitted showing weekly hours worked verified by the employer's signature and turned into your CWE Instructor.

*** STUDENTS ARE ADVISED TO CONSULT WITH THEIR CWE EMPLOYER BEFORE REGISTERING FOR CWE TO DETERMINE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS TO BE WORKED DURING THE EXPERIENCE.

*** STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO WORK THE AMOUNT OF HOURS REQUIRED FOR THE NUMBER OF CWE UNITS THEY REGISTER FOR. EXAMPLE: A student that registers for a 2 Unit Unpaid CWE course must complete 150 hours with the CWE employer by the end of the experience.

CWE UNITS AND REQUIRED HOURS

NOTE: available CWE Course Hours Vary by Department and are Dependent on How the CWE Course was Created.
  # OF CWE UNITS
1 Unit 2 Units 3 Units  4 Units
UNPAID CWE
Required hours
60 120 150 240
PAID CWE
Required hours
75 150 225 300

Student's Class Attendance

Students may be required to meet both at their CWE worksite and in class depending on the academic department expectations. Typically, CWE experiences require only meetings at their CWE worksite. CWE Instructors are expected to meet at least two times with the student and supervisor at the worksite during the experience.

Important Student Load Requirements

Students must enroll in the CWE 180 class that corresponds to their program major. Students do not need to be enrolled in any other course to enroll in the CWE 180 unless otherwise noted in their specific program requirements.

Innovation Lab

The Innovation Lab is an on-campus work experience education opportunity to learn problem-solving skills and earn CWE credit. The Innovation Lab is based on the Invention and Inclusive Innovation (i3) Initiative. You'll work with student teams and inter-disciplinary faculty mentors on developing products or programs to solve problems in your community. Students must complete at least 60 hours in lab and group activities to be meet CWE requirements.

For more info about joining an upcoming Innovation Lab, contact us at scinnovationlab@saddleback.edu.

Innovation Lab Video
Remote video URL