Internships

Internship study experiences in most instances will be conducted in work settings off-campus, and in all cases they will relate to the academic major or career objectives of the student involved. The exceptions to the usual off-campus setting are the Augustana Administration Internship Program and the Center for Western Studies Internship Program, which are available on campus (see below for more information). All internships must conform to the following general requirements:

In contrast to independent learning, internships are centered around practical experiences; the action component is generally at least as important as reading and writing components. Since internships are designed to meet genuine needs in both public and private sectors of society, the projects must first earn the support of the sponsoring agency or individual before the registration process may be completed. An intern must normally have an on-site supervisor in addition to a faculty supervisor. The on-site supervisor will, almost without exception, be a permanent, full-time employee of the host organization.
Under normal conditions, the student must file with the Registrar an approved Course Proposal for Internship Study no later than two weeks after the beginning of the semester during which the internship project is to begin (or 4 days for Interim or Summer term projects). This proposal must bear the approval of the academic advisor, the faculty project advisor, the chairperson of the department in which the study is to be carried out, and the Registrar.
The student and the project advisor are responsible for the academic soundness of the proposal. All internship proposals will conform to the following guidelines:
1. Internships should be available though not necessarily required in every department.
2. Normally, only students with junior, senior or post-college standing will be eligible to take an internship.
3. An internship involves a minimum of 40 hours of field experience for each credit hour earned.
4. Internships require a minimum of two conferences with the faculty project director pre- and post-conferences. Ideally there should be an additional conference for every credit hour more than one during the internship. The faculty project director must visit the internship site at least once (preferably twice) during the internship. If the internship is too distant from the campus to allow this, the following options are available:
  1. an adjunct professor near the site must be contracted to provide this site visitation and evaluation, or
  2. the faculty member may coordinate visits with the site supervisor through Skype, Facetime, etc.
5. Internships include a reading assignment that bears upon the internship experience undertaken.
6. Internships include a writing assignment that records the learning process (journal, log, observation report, etc.) as well as a summary paper that helps the intern reflect on the total internship experience in terms of anticipated and unanticipated learning outcomes.
7. Grading for internships should be based on a written evaluative report from the field supervisor, faculty observations and/or conferences with the intern, and the quality of the written work submitted.
8. S/U grading is permissible for internship experiences.
9. Students must be in good academic standing to participate in internships.

These guidelines are also intended to make sure that a student has acquired a sufficient background in knowledge and theory related to the internship experience to gain maximum benefit from it.

Although students may receive pay during an internship experience (dependent upon departmental policy), an internship should be a new experience based on a definite educational goal. Thus, students should not obtain internship credit for what is a regular job, whether part- or full-time, that they have been in previous to the start of the internship. An exception might be made if students assume a new position or new responsibilities as part of the internship experience in their normal place of work.
Some departments may charge fees for internships in addition to tuition.
Although students may plan to complete an internship study project over more than one semester, they must enroll for the course at the time they received formal approval for it. This enrollment may be considered as one of their regularly required courses or as an overload. If added as an overload, they must pay the regular tuition charges for an additional course. If students find that it is impossible to complete an internship study project, they may withdraw from the course without penalty, but without refund of tuition.

The Center for Western Studies Internship Program

Students have a unique opportunity to participate in alternative learning experiences through the programs of the Center for Western Studies. Through these programs, students develop sensitivity to the history and cultural diversity of the prairie-plains region and learn about the practical aspects of managing a research agency. There are four major internship areas: archives and museum management; book editing and publishing; fund raising and marketing; and conference and special event administration. Combinations of these emphases are also possible and are encouraged. Interested students should contact the Center for Western Studies.

The Augustana Administration Internship Program

The Augustana Administration Program is designed to provide a junior or senior student an opportunity to observe and participate in a university administrative experience. Augustana Administration Internships will normally take one of the following forms:

A structured practical learning experience designed to familiarize a student with the critical elements of the administrator’s position in relation to the development of the University.
A research oriented project that the university administrator or student has proposed. Possible areas include grant writing, marketing research, student development programs, financial analysis.
A combination of the above.

The Augustana Administration Internship Program will conform to general internship requirements. Further information is available from Joni Krueger, Registrar.

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