CORP: Co-operative Remote Practicum Work Experience Model for Software Engineering Education

"The education of all software engineering students must include student experiences with the professional practice of software engineering." There have been many models proposed to include professional practice in computer science and software engineering curricula. Some schools simulate professional practice in the classroom with large term or multi-term projects. Others require students to engage in professional practice outside of the classroom in an internship or co-op program. We have been exploring an alternative approach to integrating professional practice into our computer science curriculum. In our approach, we partner with an external software consulting company who employs our students directly. Students telecommute from campus and are engaged directly in real-world software development projects. We provide an academic advisor to help guide the development of the program, look for learning opportunities in the work, and mentor students. We describe our approach, solutions to the challenges we faced, and the direct and indirect benefits of our approach.