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Completing your Co-op
Your path to completing a successful co-op
Completing your Co-op
Your path to completing a successful co-op
Completing your Co-op
Your path to completing a successful co-op
Completing Your Co-op Work Term
After receiving a valid co-op offer and signing a Social Science Co-op Agreement, students will be enrolled in the appropriate co-op module.
To earn credit (0.5 or 1.0 depending on co-op duration), students must complete the following deliverables:
- Mid-point & Final Self-Assessments – To be completed toward the middle and end of the work term;
- Final Reflection Assignment – A technical report, video, or blog article reflection. Further details will be provided via Course Outline upon enrollment.
See 2025 Course Outline as a reference.
The Social Science Co-op Team will be in contact with you during your work term to keep you informed of important dates and deadlines - make sure to check your Western e-mail account regularly.
Remember that the Social Science Co-op Team is available to support you at any time. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or requests, email sscoop@uwo.ca.
The performance of each student in the co-op program is assessed on the basis of satisfactory completion of the student’s work term, adherence to the terms laid out in the Co-op Agreement signed with the Social Science Co-op Program team, the Employer's Evaluations of the student's performance, and an evaluation of the student's Final Assignment. The grade for the module is either Pass or Fail, and a Pass grade will require that both the Employer's Evaluations and the Final Assignment be satisfactory.
The Employer's Evaluation is completed by the student's employer in accordance with prescribed guidelines, it is not necessarily based on written work submitted by the student although such work may provide a part of the material upon which the evaluation is based. The Social Science Coop Program team or the Associate Dean (Undergraduate) will mark the Final Assignment.
If a student receives a failing grade for the co-op, and the basis for the grade is the evaluation of the Final Assignment, then the usual appeal procedures of Western University will be followed. The successive levels of appeal are:
- Experiential Learning Coordinator, Social Science;
- The Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) or the AD's Designate (submission of written request);
- Senate Review Board Academic (SRBA) - (submission of written application for a hearing).
If the basis of the unsatisfactory grade is entirely or in part the Employer's Evaluations, then the student will appeal in writing directly to the Associate Dean (Undergraduate) or the Dean's Designate. The Associate Dean (or designate) will meet with the student and will request an explanation, if necessary, from the employer and will make a decision on the basis of the available information. The decision of the Associate Dean (or designate) will be final.
The following scenarios will result in a failing grade and withdrawal from the Co-op Program (fee still applies):
- Accepting a co-op offer and then renege on the offer prior to beginning the position;
- Beginning a co-op work term and then quit without cause;
- Withdrawing from the co-op due to academic reasons (ie: a scholastic offence);
- Being let go with cause;
- Signing and submitting a Co-op Agreement and failing to deliver on some or all of its terms including fee payment and completion of course deliverables (failure to pay the co-op fee results in an academic seal of the student’s record)
For students who are let go due to changes in the economy, quit for health/compassionate reasons, or who otherwise wish to withdraw from the program after submitting a signed Co-op Agreement:
- Payment of the co-op fees will be at the discretion of the Associate Dean;
- Students in this position will be withdrawn (WDN) at the discretion of the Associate Dean and directed to the appropriate and available supports.