Effective Spring 2008
Starting with the advisement and enrollment process for the Spring-2008 semester, some changes to internship qualifications and requirements for successful completion will be made. Specific considerations for this include the following:
· Assurance of a rewarding experience
· Alignment with the resources of our advisory group
· Provide greater predictability to the employer pipeline
· Provide an approach to grading based on student performance on the job and the gains they made personally. Not all internships are alike and not all will have the same grading criteria.
First, the core of an internship is the job the student obtains. Up front, the following types of positions and duties are acceptable:
For all department majors, the following examples are appropriate for an internship:
· Hands on software development beyond simple scripting
· Website or database administration
· Website development, which must include significant coding beyond simple HTML
· Database development that includes significant use of SQL.
· Involvement in analysis or architecture design
The following additional types of jobs are acceptable for an Information Systems major:
· Website design using tools such as Dreamweaver or using a markup language.
· Desktop tool development (Access, VBA etc)
· IT help desk, provided that it is obvious that the student will be engaged in level 1 problem resolution and not merely answering the phone to take messages.
Granted, there will always be unique opportunities outside of these and each will be individually reviewed. Further, Calvin Computer Science department projects can be made available in the event employment opportunities are limited.
Internships will have three phases. They are outlined below.
Prior to enrolling or soon after, the intern must do the following:
· Notify the career development center of their interest for the upcoming semester.
· Meet with the internship coordinator to discuss appropriateness of potential internship.
· Attend the seminar offered by the career development center for assistance in preparing a resume.
In addition to the general
guidelines above, other requirements for approval of an internship are spelled
out in Phase II below.
After enrolling in CS394, the student is expected to immediately begin the job search. Again, to provide a more rewarding experience and consistency of internships for grading, three categories of organizations are recognized: Competitive Internships, Partner Internships and Regular. Category definitions are below, but keep in mind that the internship coordinator will be the final authority on the designation of an internship.
Competitive Full Time Internships: Each year, reputable organizations such as IBM and Microsoft award internships on a competitive basis. These internships usually are in the summer and require close to 40 hour work weeks. They inherently exceed the quality aspects of all other types of internships outlined below.
Partner Internships: One of our goals is to leverage our relationship with our advisory group to establish internships that will have reasonable assurance of providing a rich set of experiences. Given that, we should encourage our best students to first consider positions at organizations represented in our advisory group. Partner companies will also include those who have established a reputation for providing meaningful internships based on their willingness to commit to the quality aspects we seek on an internship (quality aspects are listed below). To qualify as a partner internship, the student must be committed to at least 15 to 20 hours per week. Further, written goals must be established and reviewed by the internship advisor.
Regular Internships: There are numerous sources of internships which provide experiences just as valuable as those listed. Often, these will include opportunities at small businesses and non-profit organizations. Generally speaking, a “regular” internship is done through an organization that does not have a history of supporting internships proactively. Further, these internships are typically done during the school year on a part time bases.
Once a student has identified a potential regular internship sponsor, the following is expected prior to the internship being approved and started:
· The sponsoring company must identify a mentor for the student.
· The student and the mentor must work out a list of established goals for the internship.
· A commitment must be made to at least 10 hours of work per week for 10 weeks. The ten week requirement cannot be compressed due to number of hours worked (e.g. working three 40 hour weeks does not excuse you from working at least 10 hours per week for 10 weeks.)
If an internship opportunity is not available for some reason, and the student has not secured employment by the fourth week of the semester, an in-house project will be assigned. Incompletes will no longer be offered unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances.
The syllabus will outline the general academic requirements (e.g. journals, papers, presentations etc) for the internship. However, successful completion of any internship must include an employer evaluation of the internship.
Realistically, there will be those occasions when an employer may not be able to physically complete an evaluation due to extenuating circumstances. The internship advisor will work with the student to provide an appropriate alternative.
The remaining requirements for successful completion depend on the category of the internships noted above.
Competitive Full Time Internships: Due to the intensity, structure and benefit of these internships, it is felt that the department does not need to supplement the experience as much as it would with others. If the internship coordinator believes an internship meets the definition of a competitive full time internship, successful completion for a grade will include a presentation to students and faculty. The key points of the presentation content will be worked out with the internship advisor.
Partner Internships and Regular Internships: In addition to the internship itself, successful completion of these internship will require the following:
· Reflective essays about the internship or journal write ups of the internship.
· Participation in an end of internship discussion group.
· Interns on a regular internship should regularly contact the intern instructor to provide a brief status report.
As we progress, one of the goals will be to establish a valid list of those employers considered as “Partners.” Basically, those employers who have diligently worked with us to support the review process will be recognized. Once that partners list is established, a copy will be made available to the student. We will begin compiling this in the Fall of 2008.
Provided there are no legal issues, we may consider posting the “Partner’s List” as a page on our website. This would provide recognition to the employers as well as being a source for the student.
On a more negative note, we will identify employers and positions who establish a track record of non-support. Examples of “non-support” include the following:
· Difficulty in setting up meeting times
· Reluctance to provide written evaluations
· Tendency not to make a commitment to internship goals
We will discourage (if not deny approval of) future internships for those organizations. However, we will not publicly post those names.