Lakeland University has received a $250,000 grant from the Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation to support its new cooperative education program aimed at helping students graduate with little or no debt.
The university launched a cooperative education model in the fall that allows students to gain 12 to 16 months of professional work experience with area companies, while earning an estimated $100,000 in wages and scholarships over four years to minimize post-graduate student debt.
Through the program, students begin working in on-campus jobs as freshmen and, as sophomores, they begin working in the hospitality industry at one of the university’s partner sites, including The Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, The American Club in Kohler and Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan.
The program, currently offered to hospitality majors, has students alternating semesters of study with semesters of full-time work experience.
“In a tight job market like this area is experiencing, this program provides local employers with a new skilled labor force,”said David Black, president of Lakeland University. “We are adjusting our academic calendar to fit the needs of employers. For example, students working in hospitality management roles will stay in those jobs into October and take seven-week classes for their fall semester.”
Funds from the Bradley Foundation will be used to support recruitment efforts, on-campus wages for first-year students with financial need and co-curricular programming for co-op students, including economic and financial literacy, etiquette events, mock interviews and soft skills.
“We are grateful to the Bradley Foundation for their investment in this significant change in how we will deliver a bachelor’s degree,” Black said. “Cooperative education will set Lakeland up to be a primary source of talent for this region, and our graduates who choose to settle here will be able to engage in the local economy immediately without debt weighing them down.”
The program is expected to grow to include more majors, such as accounting, marketing and sports management, the university said.
