Internships

Internships are usually planned working-learning experiences in an off-campus setting that are designed to broaden and augment the academic experience. Internships allow students to integrate the classroom with "real world" experiences.

The Curricular Affairs Committee (CAC) offers the following guidelines for departments and programs as they design internships:

1.Internships should be planned experiences. They should include a learning contract that is satisfactory to the student, the cooperator and the department.

2.All internship students should have an assigned faculty advisor.

3.A stipend may be received by the student intern at the discretion of the cooperator, but the internship experience is of greatest importance, not the presence or amount of a stipend.

4.The internship student should have completed 60 credit hours with a minimum GPA of 2.0.

5.In the learning contract goals should be defined and the cooperator should agree to provide student evaluations and guide the student so that the goals can be achieved.

6.The student intern should, in turn, agree to the work responsibilities and supervision by the cooperator.

7.Whenever possible the Faculty advisor should be encouraged to make an on site visit to ensure that the experience is appropriate.

8.The CAC recommends that the prospective intern submit a proposal for the internship and keep a daily log during the internship period. A final report should also be submitted. The intern may also be required to submit brief weekly reports.

9.The CAC recommends S/U grading as these types of experiential learning usually do not lend themselves to precise grading.