Brittany Jill Cohen - PEY Co-op Preparatory Program

At a Glance

Organization: University of Toronto, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
Role: Learning & Program Development Lead (2020–Present)
Scope: Designed and launched the PEY Co-op Preparatory Program — the faculty’s first comprehensive career development ecosystem supporting engineering students from recruitment through work-term readiness.
Scale: ~6,000 students annually (~1,500 per cohort) across engineering disciplines.
Outcome: Established a scalable, accountability-driven learning system that improved student preparedness, feedback consistency, and equitable access — contributing to strong recruitment outcomes, including a 95% employment success rate in early cohorts.

Background

Until 2020, University of Toronto Engineering students entered recruitment for the PEY Co-op Program with minimal preparation. Concerns about readiness were raised consistently by students, employers, staff, and the program’s accrediting body. The legacy model lacked structure, rigor, and scalability.

In 2020, I led the design and development of the PEY Co-op Preparatory Program, launching the first comprehensive, structured approach to Engineering co-op career development at U of T the following year. Since its 2021 launch, I have continued to lead the program’s iteration, expansion, and implementation for each new cohort, supporting a more impactful, skills-based foundation to better prepare students for recruitment and their work terms.

Built on a drip-feed learning system, the program introduced mandatory checkpoints that:

✅ Promoted consistent student engagement across all components

✅ Enabled staff to track and monitor progress at scale (~1,500+ students per cohort)

✅ Embedded accountability by tying job board access and recruitment eligibility to assignment completion

The result was a self-paced yet structured learning ecosystem that replaced the legacy model and now scales to ~6,000 students annually—balancing learner autonomy with consistent accountability and equitable access.

Program Design & Integration

The Preparatory Program was intentionally designed as a learning ecosystem — a structure where curriculum, technology, and human supports worked in concert. This approach was supported by two complementary design pillars:

Foundational Design, which established the pedagogical and stakeholder framework, and
Design Systems & Operations, which enabled scalability and consistency at every level.

Foundational Design

The following components comprised the foundation of the ecosystem — aligning pedagogy, people, and platforms.

Program Framework:
Established a unified objectives framework aligning programming, advising, and employer engagement under shared learning outcomes — ensuring every service contributed meaningfully to student development and overall program impact.

◾ Preview: PEY Co-op Objectives Framework
(Modified for Portfolio Display)

Framework diagram aligning programming, advising, and employer engagement under shared learning outcomes.

Excerpt illustrating how the objectives framework aligned programming, advising, and employer engagement under shared learning outcomes.
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Instructional Design & Educational Technology Rigor:
Applied evidence-based learning frameworks to develop modules with clear, competency-focused objectives and assessments calibrated to the right depth of learning. Integrated educational technology strategically to enhance accessibility, engagement, and feedback — ensuring every digital element served a pedagogical purpose.

◾ Preview: Instructional Design & Educational Technology Frameworks
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Visual excerpt showing competency-based objectives and accessible module design using educational technology.

Excerpt illustrating how instructional design and educational technology frameworks guided the creation of competency-based, accessible digital learning experiences across the Preparatory Program.
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Collaborative Design:
Consulted dozens of subject-matter experts — including faculty, staff, and student groups — to align the Preparatory Program with academic, industry, and student stakeholder needs.

◾ Preview: Consultation Summary
(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Flow diagram depicting collaborative consultations with faculty, staff, and students informing program alignment.

Excerpt illustrating how collaborative consultations informed alignment between academic, employer, and student stakeholder needs.
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Design Systems & Operations

Once the foundation was in place, we built systems to sustain quality and manage scale — ensuring a consistent, accessible experience for students and enabling staff to deliver meaningful feedback efficiently.

Integrated Supports:
Streamlined access to student services through a unified digital hub connecting advising appointments, workshops, events, and on-demand resources — designed for continuity and ease of navigation across the student journey.

◾ Preview: PEY Co-op Resources Hub
(Modified for Portfolio Display)

Screenshot of unified digital hub connecting advising, workshops, and on-demand student resources. (Click to view a full screenshot of this page.)

Excerpt illustrating how the Resources Hub unified advising, workshops, and on-demand supports for student continuity. (Click to view a full screenshot of this page, including resource sections.)
[🔗 View Full Preview]

Visual Accountability Tools:
Designed cohort and stream-specific journey maps to make timelines and expectations transparent for 1,500+ students and enabling staff to track progress at scale.

◾ Preview: PEY Co-op Journey Map
(Modified for Portfolio Display)

Visual journey map showing module sequence, deadlines, and progress tracking for 1,500 + students. (Click to view a full screenshot of this page.)

Excerpt illustrating how visual journey maps clarified timelines and expectations for students and staff. (Click to view a full screenshot of this page.)
[🔗 View Full Preview]

Consistency at Scale:
Authored a writing style guide to standardize tone, terminology, and accessibility across hundreds of pages of learning content — ensuring a coherent experience throughout the Preparatory Program. The guide was later adopted by the full Engineering Career Centre.

◾ Preview: Writing Style Guide
(Modified for Portfolio Display)

Excerpt outlining tone, terminology, and accessibility guidelines for PEY Co-op learning materials.

Excerpt illustrating how the style guide defined language, voice, and tone across PEY Co-op learning materials.
[🔗 View Full Preview]

Staff Training:
Supervised permanent and contracted staff through grading processes, developing rubrics, instructional guides, and workflows that ensured consistency, efficiency, and learner-centered feedback across cohorts of 1,500+ students.

◾ Preview: Grading & Feedback Training Workflow

(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Diagram illustrating staff training workflow for consistent feedback and scalable student support.

Excerpt illustrating how staff training workflows enabled consistent, scalable feedback and student support across the Preparatory Program.
[🔗 View Full Preview]

AI Supported Design & Operations:
Integrated responsible AI tools into design and operational workflows to strengthen clarity, accessibility, and consistency at scale — refining learning materials and assignments, supporting staff calibration through standardized examples and tone checks, and identifying patterns in aggregated student reflections to guide iterative improvements.

◾ Preview: AI Use Case Samples

(Developed for Portfolio Display)

Excerpt illustrating how AI was used to enhance clarity, support consistency, and enable effective iteration.
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Challenge

Together, these design systems transformed PEY Co-op into a coordinated, evidence-based learning ecosystem. However, scaling such an integrated program revealed new complexities in timing, workload, and sequencing — insights that directly shaped the next phase of iteration.

Although the pilot phase achieved considerable success, the initial structure created several critical challenges:

- Resume development came too late. Students couldn’t access Master Resume content until Module 2, often mid-October. This meant they were booking resume appointments before having program materials, and staff were forced to provide generic, one-size-fits-all guidance.
- Critical assignments were bunched together. Both the Master Resume and Mock Interview were due at the end of the fall semester — the busiest academic period. Submission rates reflected the issue: only 28% of students had submitted resumes by mid-December, and only 20% mock interviews.
- Staff capacity was strained. Critical assignments landed at once, reducing staff’s ability to give meaningful feedback.
- Entry into recruitment cycles was delayed. Because assignments weren’t completed until December/January, students couldn’t participate in earlier postings. This frustrated both students (who felt they were missing out) and employers (who wanted access to candidates sooner).

Key Learning:

The drip-feed structure worked — it kept students accountable — but the type and timing of content needed refinement. To improve outcomes, resume development needed to happen earlier, assignments had to be distributed more evenly, and recruitment cycle readiness had to be integrated more directly into the program.

Iteration

To address the challenges of the early design, I led a comprehensive content restructure that realigned the program with student needs, staff capacity, and employer expectations.

Key Changes:

Moved resume development earlier. Shifted the Master Resume Assignment into Module 1 so students could begin building resumes immediately, apply feedback over time, and enter recruitment cycles better prepared.
Redistributed assignments. Spread deliverables (e.g., resume, mock interview) across modules to avoid end-of-term bottlenecks — reducing student stress and giving staff capacity to provide more timely, meaningful feedback.
Redesigned reflective learning. Replaced workbook-style assignments with guided reflections that helped students identify skills gaps, plan professional development before the recruitment cycle, and prepare for the transition from school to workplace.
Introduced new applied assignments. Developed the Program Requirements Quiz and Job Search Activity to clarify eligibility, deadlines, and employer expectations, while teaching students how to navigate the ECC job-posting platform — directly addressing concerns from the Employer Relations team.
Streamlined content. Redesigned modular learning materials to align with new assignments and relocated supplementary lessons to the Resources Hub, keeping each module focused on the most critical learning outcomes.

To sustain impact over time, I embedded Prep-specific questions into students’ mandatory post-program reflections. This allowed us to measure changes in confidence and workplace readiness after recruitment and during work terms — creating a continuous feedback loop to inform future program iterations.

Results

The restructure enhanced every dimension of the learning experience — for students, staff, and employers alike — demonstrating that thoughtful design can achieve both scalability and depth of impact.

Key Outcomes:

Scale: Prep scaled to nearly 6,000 students annually (~1,500 per cohort), supporting learners from their first-year Intro course through to their work terms, with a 95% employment success rate.
Readiness: Students entered recruitment cycles earlier — with stronger resumes, greater confidence, and clearer alignment to employer timelines.
Quality: Assignment pacing and workload were balanced across the semester, improving engagement and submission quality.
Efficiency: Staff workflows became more efficient, enabling timely, personalized, and meaningful feedback.
Employer Alignment: Employer Relations staff reported better-prepared candidates and stronger alignment between learning outcomes and industry expectations.
Recognition: The Preparatory Program became a flagship model within the Faculty — now a core component of the PEY Co-op experience and used to inform future program design.

Together, these changes created a program that is sustainable at scale, responsive to stakeholder needs, and grounded in evidence-based design — a model now used across multiple cohorts and continually refined through data and feedback.

Recognition & Reflection

The PEY Co-op Preparatory Program has become a flagship initiative within the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, celebrated for its scale, innovation, and measurable impact. Its success — and my leadership in its design and implementation — has been recognized through multiple institutional award nominations:

Jill Matus Excellence in Student Services Award (2023) — recognizing my exceptional contributions to student success, collaboration, and innovation.
President’s Excellence Award (2022) — acknowledging my leadership and individual contributions to the launch and success of the new PEY Co-op Program.
Faculty Staff Innovation Award (2022) — a team nomination highlighting the Preparatory Program as a model of scalable, student-centered design.

The Preparatory Program wasn’t simply a redesign — it was the creation of something entirely new. Before 2020, co-op participation consisted of two workshops, leaving students underprepared for recruitment and workplace transitions.

By leading the design, launch, and evolution of the program, I transformed a legacy model into a comprehensive learning ecosystem serving nearly 6,000 students annually. The Preparatory Program now aligns with recruitment cycles, prepares students for the workplace, and meets the expectations of employers and accrediting bodies.

This experience reaffirmed a core belief: impactful learning programs require systems thinking — integrating curriculum, technology, people, and evaluation to create lasting change.

Testimonials and Endorsements

Below is a selection of peer and leadership feedback reflecting the quality, impact, and collaborative nature of my work.

“A masterful problem-solver… collaborative, innovative, and humble.”

“A masterful problem-solver, Brittany adeptly created and managed a sophisticated technical system supporting multiple cohorts of PEY Co-op students. She consistently earns commendation from peers and managers for her collaborative and innovative approach. Despite her significant accomplishments, she remains humble and is quick to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of her team members.”

— Phanindra Deonandan, Director, Student Development & Career Programming

“A generous sharer of knowledge… a role-model who inspires growth in others.”

“Brittany is not only a keeper of knowledge, but a generous sharer of knowledge. She uniquely goes beyond inspiring into authentic role-modeling and teaching, while holding compassionate space for the messy parts of learning that we all inevitably stumble through. Many of us have been inspired, role-modelled, and taught — explicitly and implicitly — by Brittany.”

— Sonja Marchment & Vallissa Mueller, Student Development Officers; Estelle Oliva-Fisher, Director, Leadership Education in Engineering

“Warmth, clarity, and mentorship that transforms confidence and career direction.”

“Brittany exemplifies the epitome of warmth and professionalism. Her patience and clarity created an environment of open communication and learning. Under her mentorship, my nervousness transformed into confidence. Her personalized guidance catalyzed my professional growth and helped shape my career direction.”

— Esther Shen, Educational Program Assistant (Work Study Program)

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