Colby-Sawyer College

Internships provide an opportunity for all students to enhance their academic programs with field experience, related to their career interest, in a variety of settings. The value of work-related experience has been demonstrated many times over by the successful placement of our graduates in the world of work and in graduate or professional schools.

Colby-Sawyer College encourages every student to successfully complete at least one internship and for each discipline to provide an internship offering.

Internships will:

• provide an opportunity and atomosphere in which students may test theory learned in the classroom in an actual working situation an discover the value of work and the rewards of accomplishment.
• enhance educational aspects of the career development process;
• provide a system of accountability and encourage professionalism;
• provide an opportunity for students to develop positive work habits;
• provide an opportunity to test aptitude for or interest in a selected field;
• insure a natural transition to the highest level of professional preparation as a complement to the liberal education goals of the College.

Any matriculating student is eligible for an internship provided that the student:

• has earned enough credits for sophomore status;
• has submitted a resume and Internship Request form to the Harrington Center;
• has satisfactorily completed a Pre-internship Seminar;
• meets the criteria established by the College and by each discipline for participation and has academic department approval;
• has a different experience for each subsequent internship;
• has a College approved on-site supervisor.

Each department may have established prerequisites for students wishing to undertake internships. However, the following general guidelines are:

• that internships may or may not carry credit;
• that 40 site-directed hours equals one credit (APC approved exceptions for Psychology and Child Development;
• that for non-credit internships 40 site directed hours is the equivalent of one credit for the purpose of determining faculty load;
• that internships are either 285 (exploratory) or 485 (advanced);
• that a required seminar for pre-internship training be offered throughout the semester and instructed by the Director of Career Development & Internships;
• that internship credit be limited to a maximum of 15 credits towards graduation;
• that in a given semester, a student may take only one internship;
• that the internship will be a different experience each time for each student;
• that an interdisciplinary internship (INT 285) be available;
• that the administration of the resources, guidelines, application, and evaluation criteria by centralized in the Harrington Center.

As the central administration site for the internship program, the Harrington Center will:

Before the Internship

• maintain updated internship site resources in database and hard copy formats;
• meet with local, regional, and national employers for internship development;
• schedule and instruct pre-internship seminars;
• verify all Internship Learning Contracts for accuracy and completeness;
• seek to identify current and measurable methods to evaluate interns and the internship program through work with experiential education professional associations and faculty and student feedback.

• communicate status of all interns to faculty sponsors throughout each semester;
• help faculty sponsors with problem interns or internships upon request.

• maintain records on all current and former interns and internship placements by major and semester.

• faculty sponsors will communicate with site supervisors about learning goals and objectives prior to the beginning of the internship;
• faculty sponsors will determine if the level of supervision and the qualifications of the supervisor is consistent with the department's internship objectives;
• faculty sponsors will meet with students to establish measurable internship outcomes, learning goals, and objectives;
• faculty sponsors will facilitate completion of the Internship Learning Contract with students and site supervisors.

• faculty sponsors will maintain regular contact with site supervisors of student interns and meet or talk with interns a minimum of once a week;
• faculty sponsors will visit sites when deemed appropriate and maintain open lines of communication throughout the internships with the site supervisors;
• faculty sponsors will evaluate all internship experiences in consultation with site supervisors;
• faculty sponsors should provide interns with specific final report criteria and due dates;
• faculty sponsors should develop an internship reflection piece and on-site hours tracking method or request a form from the Harrington Center.

• faculty sponsors will schedule a minimum of one required group meeting with all interns following each internship;
• faculty sponsors will make sure all required paperwork is submitted by the interns and will determine whether an intern has passed or failed the internship.

• students must confer with their faculty advisors to plan the timing of their internship(s) and to make sure all departmental requirements are met;
• students must contact the Harrington Center to register for and successfully complete a pre-internship seminar;
• students must submit an Internship Request and resume to the Harrington Center by October 5 for a spring internship and March 5 for a summer or fall internship;
• students will receive an Internship Learning Contract upon submission of the request form;
• students must register for the internship during the appropriate pre-registration period;
• students must return completed Internship Learning Contracts to the Harrington Center at least two weeks prior to the last day of classes.

• students must complete any written reflections or other requirements as designated by the faculty sponsor on the Internship Learning Contract;
• students must provide their internship site supervisors with the appropriate evaluations at least one week prior to mid-semester and finals to avoid incomplete grades for their internships as much as possible;
• students must complete a site evaluation and return it to the Harrington Center at least one week prior to finals.

• students will submit and/or present their final reports as designated by their faculty sponsors;
• students will send their internship site supervisor a thank you letter and provide a copy of the letter to the Harrington Center.