麻豆果冻视频 Seal (for official use only)
 

POLICY #6.3
SUBJECT: Internships

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is to provide definition and guidance for credit-bearing Internship programs intended to help degree-seeking students satisfy the requirements of a program of study.

II. REFERENCES

  1. National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
  2. Southern Utah University Policy 5.18 Nepotism
  3. Southern Utah University Policy 5.27 Non-Discrimination / Anti-Harassment
  4. Southern Utah University Policy 5.30 University-Authorized International Travel
  5. Southern Utah University Policy 5.60 Sexual Misconduct
  6. Southern Utah University Policy 6.13 Grading
  7. Southern Utah University Policy 6.19 Grade Appeal
  8. Southern Utah University Policy 6.27 Faculty Workload
  9. Southern Utah University Policy 6.29 Retention of Student Records by Faculty
  10. Southern Utah University Policy 6.31 Academic Standards
  11. Southern Utah University Policy 7.7 University Contracts
  12. Utah Code
  13. Utah System of Higher Education Policy

III. DEFINITIONS

  1. Academic Internship Coordinator: A faculty member who oversees an Internship program, including consultation and Internship course registration, for a particular college/school or department.
  2. Faculty Advisory Committee: A committee composed of Academic Internship Coordinators and representatives of the Career & Professional Development Center who collaborate on the most recent policies, regulations, laws, and best practices concerning Internships.
  3. Independent Internship: Programs where student interns engage in activity under the supervision of a third party without University involvement.
  4. Intern: A student enrolled in a work experience that is sponsored by Southern Utah University and approved by an Academic Internship Coordinator, involving both classroom instruction and work experience with a cooperating Internship Provider.
  5. International Internship: An Internship conducted outside of the United States and its territories and freely associated states.
  6. Internship Coordinator: A coordinator within the Career & Professional Development Center who coordinates with all parties participating in a single Internship to carry out Internship activities.
  7. Internship Provider: The organization that is hosting a student for an Internship experience.
  8. Internship: A form of academic experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in coursework with practical application, skills development, and mentoring in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths and give Internship Providers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.
  9. Remote Internship: An Internship conducted in a professional remote setting, where the Intern is not physically present at the Internship site.
  10. Site Supervisor: A supervisor at the Internship site who oversees the day-to-day Internship experience as well as trains and mentors student Interns.
  11. University-Operated Internship: Programs where student Interns engage in activity under the supervision of a University employee acting in the context of their University employment.
  12. University-Sponsored Internship: Programs where student Interns engage in activity under the supervision of a third party, but the University is involved in the facilitation and other aspects of the program.

IV. POLICY

    1. Internship Criteria
      1. To ensure that an Internship – whether it is a traditional one or conducted remotely or virtually – is educational, all of the following criteria must be met:
        1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom, a learning experience that provides the application of knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
        2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
        3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
        4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
        5. There is direct supervision of the Intern by a professional(s) with relevant expertise and educational and/or professional experience who provides feedback.
        6. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the Internship Provider that support learning objectives/goals.
      2. Students are encouraged to participate in a new Internship experience. However, the student may be permitted to use their current employment as an Internship experience if approved by the Academic Internship Coordinator who determines the student’s current employment and the learning objectives for the Internship are aligned with the student’s future career goals.
    2. Internship Types
      1. A University-Sponsored Internship is a program where student Interns engage in activity under the supervision of a third party, but the University is involved in the facilitation and other aspects of the program. Academic credit is awarded and the required paperwork for a University-Sponsored Internship includes:
        1. Master Internship Agreement (MIA) in accordance with 麻豆果冻视频 Policy 7.7 University Contracts.
        2. Internship Learning Agreement (ILA).
      2. A University-Operated Internship is a program where student Interns engage in activity under the supervision of a University employee acting in the context of their University employment. Academic credit is awarded and the required paperwork for a University-Operated Internship includes:
        1. Internship Learning Agreement (ILA).
      3. An Independent Internship is a program where the student Interns engage in activity under the supervision of a third party without the involvement by the University. There is no paperwork required for this Internship and no academic credit is awarded.
        1. Students are encouraged, with support from academic departments, to report Independent Internships to the Career and Professional Development Center.
    3. Academic Credit
      1. Any academic department, with the approval of the Department Chair, may offer Internships as part of their curricula as either [Subject Prefix] 2890, 4890, or 6890, provided the course exists in the currently active catalog.
      2. Internships are available to students enrolled in a degree program who have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher and have completed a minimum of 30 undergraduate semester hours. The minimum GPA and completed semester hours are baseline requirements. In unusual circumstances, individual departments may waive or set higher requirements to complete an Internship in their respective Departments. Internships may be available in graduate programs as determined by program-specific guidelines.
      3. The total amount of academic credit granted varies based on the nature of the work, the academic projects required, and various qualitative criteria as determined by the department/program. However, approximately 45 work hours are required for one (1) academic credit, which number correlates to the number of in-class hours plus time to prepare for class in a regular on-campus class.
      4. For academic programs allowing Internship credit to apply to major/minor requirements, no more than twelve (12) credit hours may be earned through Internships. Academic programs may further limit the number of Internship credits that may count toward a student’s major/minor.
      5. The student’s academic background must be suitable to the anticipated field experience to register and earn credit for [Subject Prefix] 4890 and [Subject Prefix] 6890. [Subject Prefix] 2890 is open in various departments and may be used as an exploratory Internship option. Academic Internship Coordinators and Department Chairs should adhere to the general principle that “increasing course numbers indicate more challenging content and higher-order learning outcomes” (see USHE Policy R475) when selecting course numbers.
      6. An Internship must be approved by the Academic Internship Coordinator, including completing required paperwork and learning objectives, prior to the student beginning the Internship experience.
      7. Students completing an Internship must register for the Internship course either during the current semester or within the following semester in which the Internship occurred. If a student’s academic course load does not enable them to register for all required credits in a single semester, students may register for the course for a maximum of three (3) semesters following their Internship.
      8. Grades will be Pass/Fail. They will be assigned based on the student’s ability to integrate academic and field experience, not merely because of faithful performance on a job. Each department will determine the method(s) of evaluating student performance when assigning grades (see 麻豆果冻视频 Policy 6.13 and 6.19).
      9. Students may not obtain Internship credit if a student is working under the supervision of a family member, another student, or a self-run business. On rare occasions, an Academic Internship Coordinator may waive this restriction with approval from the Department Chair and upon consultation with Risk Management.
      10. Students who are participating in International Internships and receiving academic credit must obtain approval from their Academic Internship Coordinator and submit a Student Travel Authorization Request through the Office of Learning Abroad at least three (3) weeks prior to the start of University-authorized travel (see 麻豆果冻视频 Policy 5.30).
      11. An international student wanting to complete an Internship must consult with the Office of International Affairs to determine the requirements for that student’s visa.
    4. Parties Responsibilities
      1. Students
        1. Locate, apply for, and coordinate their own Internship(s).
        2. Complete an Internship orientation, provided by the Career and Professional Development Center, prior to beginning an Internship.
        3. Complete the Internship Learning Agreement (ILA), which will include specific learning objectives, and any other documents as required by the Academic Internship Coordinator, prior to beginning their Internship.
        4. Discuss with their Academic Internship Coordinator any additional requirements the student should fulfill in order to receive credit.
        5. Submit written reports and/or evaluations as required by the department.
      2. Academic Internship Coordinators
        1. Act as a liaison to the Career and Professional Development Center and the Internship Provider. Department Chairs will coordinate internships and serve as the Academic Internship Coordinator but may delegate coordination and responsibility of the Academic Internship Coordinator position to a faculty member.
        2. Receive Instructional Credit Hours (ICHs) according to 麻豆果冻视频 Policy 6.27. ICHs may be accumulated over multiple semesters as negotiated between the Academic Internship Coordinators and Department Chairs, with approval by the Dean. All courses with the word “Internship” in the title must use the course type of XSUP for workload calculations.
        3. Keep an adequate record of the ICHs.
        4. Keep adequate records of student involvement in Internship activities with the exception of the Master Internship Agreement.
        5. Approve Internships proposed by each student, acknowledging that the Internship meets the departmental requirements for academic rigor, departmental Internship requirements, and policy.
        6. Approve learning objectives for individual Internships.
        7. Register the student for the appropriate class (i.e., [Subject Prefix] 2890, 4890, or 6890).
        8. Monitor the Internship and mentor the Intern through site visits or other appropriate evaluations. Following the criteria established in this Policy, Internship rigor is monitored and maintained by the Academic Internship Coordinator under the director of the Department Chair.
        9. Evaluate a student’s academic product at the end of an Internship and assign a Pass/Fail grade.
        10. Any requirements for an Internship above and beyond those established by this Policy must be reviewed by the department curriculum committee annually.
        11. For University-Sponsored Internships, if a legal contract between the Internship Provider and 麻豆果冻视频 is required, that contract will be reviewed, negotiated, and signed according to 麻豆果冻视频 Policy 7.7 and managed by the Career and Professional Development Center.
      3. Site Supervisors
        1. Complete all required paperwork/agreements and collaborate with the Intern to establish learning objectives.
        2. Ensure that students are supervised/mentored regularly by practicing professionals in the field.
        3. Must be willing to participate in the professional mentoring and teaching role, respecting the students’ academic priorities, and participate in a review and report on each student’s progress and performance during each work semester.
      4. Career and Professional Development Center
        1. Create and maintain an Internship database that lists opportunities available to all qualified students and all referrals will comply with federal and state laws and policies.
        2. Prepare and present Internship presentations to classes and student organizations.
        3. Provide one-on-one Internship coaching with students.
        4. Convene and support a regular faculty advisory committee on Internships.
        5. Serve as a resource for each academic department concerning Internships.
        6. Report pertinent information to appropriate departments and faculty concerning activities of the Internship Provider, when the activities of the Internship Provider have the potential to affect students.
        7. Address and advise on challenges and difficulties students experience during their Internships.
        8. Screen all incoming Internship opportunities to ensure they meet both federal law and 麻豆果冻视频 policy.
        9. Establish relationships with Internship Providers in the community, regionally, and nationally to promote 麻豆果冻视频 students and develop Internships.
        10. Maintain a database of Master Internship Agreement forms in accordance with 麻豆果冻视频 Policy 7.7.
        11. Maintain the Master Internship Agreement for a maximum of five (5) years with a yearly review, except that either party may end the term sooner by delivering a written notice of termination to the other party, in which case the term will end on the last day of the 麻豆果冻视频 academic semester within which that notice was delivered.
        12. Provide an Internship orientation to all students, prior to the student beginning an Internship (as noted in Section IV.D.1.b.).
      5. University Prerogative
        1. The University reserves the right to terminate a student’s and/or an Internship Provider’s participation in an Internship program and to remove a student from a work assignment at any time if the Academic Internship Coordinator decides, in consultation with the Career and Professional Development Center and appropriate University administrators, that continued participation is not in the best interests of 麻豆果冻视频 and/or its students.

V. RELEVANT FORMS/LINKS

VI. QUESTIONS/RESPONSIBLE OFFICE

The responsible office for this Policy is the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. For questions about this Policy, contact the Career and Professional Development Center.

VII. POLICY ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT DATES

Date Approved: August 12, 2005

Amended: May 4, 2007; February 1, 2013; December 13, 2024