BMCC is hardly the only community college in the nation with a cooperative education program. But most are narrowly tied to industries that support local economies. “That’s where BMCC is unique,” says Jon Dash, who chairs the college’s cooperative education internship program. “Since New York is a world city, we have a mandate to offer internship programs across virtually every imaginable field.”
It’s a mandate that BMCC has honored since it opened its doors in 1963. Today, internships are required for all students majoring in Accounting, Business Management, Video Arts and Technology, Multimedia Programming and Design and Office Automation and Operations. (They are optional for CIS, Liberal Arts, Writing and Literature, Business Administration and Public Service majors.)
Bringing coursework alive“We view an internship as the capstone of a quality education – the experience that will tie everything together for students and give real meaning to their coursework,” says Dash. “Classroom studies are essential, but it’s in the internship where they see how the work in their chosen field actually gets done. The value of that is immeasurable.”
To be eligible for an internship, students must have a GPA of 2.0 or higher, complete a significant number of credits in their major and, in most cases, take the Career Planning Course (CED 201). “They must also be able to commit 15 hours a week for an entire semester,” says Dash. “Typically, that means working weekday mornings or afternoons, or a few full days each week.” Students receive two academic credits and are graded.
Holding students and employers to high standardsWhile students’ on-the-job performance is rigorously evaluated, the workplaces where they are assigned must also meet equally exacting standards. “We choose venues where we know students will have a chance to learn, grow and do meaningful work,” says Dash. “We’re not interested in having them spend their time fetching coffee or sitting around waiting for something to do.” Currently, BMCC offers more than 100 different internships with a diverse range of employers, such as Human Rights Watch, Island/Def Jam/Universal Music Group, Bank Street School of Education, Hilton Hotels, NBC News and Downstate Medical Center.
Not surprisingly, students who do well in a given setting inevitably prepare the ground for interns who follow. “I’d say that 70 percent of our internships are repeat business,” says Dash. “Employers come back to us for another student because they’ve been so pleased with the ones they’ve had before. So it’s important that students understand that when they’re doing an internship, they’re representing BMCC as well as themselves.”
Many BMCC graduates report that their internships bolstered their confidence and enhanced their marketability to employers. “I was able to apply what I had learned in my classes and really felt part of a team,” says one alumnus who did an internship at a major airline. “Best of all, I got a full-time job with the airline when I graduated.” Notes another, “The internship opened the door for me to comfortably reenter the work force after I was away for a few years raising a family and working towards my degree. Having BMCC behind me, supporting my efforts, helped me feel less apprehensive about facing the business world again.”
