INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVE:

An internship is a supervised, semester-long, fall, spring or summer work experience for which pass/fail academic credit is granted.  It is intended to serve as a meaningful practical supplement to classroom instruction and is done under the supervision of:

            1.   Faculty Supervisor
            2.   On-Site Supervisor at the sponsoring organization
            3.   Career Planning Office*

* Clinical training and internships in Education, Nursing, and Social Work are supervised and administrated separately by each respective department.  Students enrolled in these programs should check with their department for the appropriate guidelines, procedures and requirements .

ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DEFINITIONS:

Student:  Obtains the required internship forms from Career Planning Office including the Contract.  The Contract outlines the internship dates, hours, job description and written assignments in addition to all required signatures.  Student must provide all information requested on the Contract, including signatures, BEFORE returning all forms to the Career Planning Office.  The student completes all required assignments and submits them directly to the faculty supervisor by the deadlines specified.

Academic Advisor:  Advises and counsels students regarding internship site selections, avoidance of course overload and course prerequisites.  Determines if the proposed internship meets the approval of the academic department and signs Internship Contract.

Faculty Supervisor:  Approves student’s proposed internship site, credit hours, and monitors student’s progress through weekly or monthly meetings.  Determines internship written assignment.  Evaluates student’s performance and assigns appropriate grade and signs Internship Contract.

Site Supervisor:  Provides orientation, supervision, and work projects to the student intern. Meets regularly with intern to provide direction and work progression and completes a mid-term and final Evaluation Form of student’s performance. Provides job description and signs Internship Contract.

Director of Career Planning:   Provides administrative oversight of the Internship Program.  Counsels and assists students with the application process including resume and interview preparation.  Conducts Preparatory Seminar to prepare students for the internship experience.  Administers and assists students in the internship application process to secure an internship.  Distributes, explains and monitors all required internship paperwork.  Acts as a liaison between Faculty Supervisor, Student and Site Supervisor.  Maintains, edits, and advertisesInternship Opportunity files of established internship sites.  Maintains contact with company sponsors and signs internship contract.  
 
PREREQUISITES:

• Internships are open to all students attending Cedar Crest College who have completed their sophomore year and who have earned a minimum of 60 credits.  Transfer students must have completed at least one semester at Cedar Crest College.

• A student must have a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0 and have completed the appropriate course work required by the nature of the internship.

• It is highly recommended that students satisfy their departmental internship requirement no later than the semester before they anticipate graduating.   (For example, students expecting to graduate in May of their senior year should complete their department’s internship requirement no later than the end of the fall semester of their senior year.)

• Students must complete and submit an Internship Contract with the appropriate faculty approval and signatures, on or before the deadlines established by the Career Planning Office.  The deadline is April 30th for summer internships, August 11st for fall internships, unless you are leaving the Lehigh Valley during the summer in which case the April 30th deadline applies and November 30th for spring internships.   If any of these dates falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday is the actual deadline date.  These deadlines will be announced in several campus advertisement vehicles (i.e. This Week on the Crest, Career Planning Homepage, Campus TV and bulletin boards ).

• Students seeking pre-approved internships must review the Internship Opportunities booklet in conjunction with individual internship files in the Career Planning Office.  These files provide detailed information on the employer’s internship specifications.  Students should select internships in which they are interested and for which they have the required academic or other specified credent

• Students seeking to design their own internships must discuss their proposals with the appropriate faculty within their academic department. 

PROCEDURES:

• Review Internship Guidelines on Career Planning Homepage http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/career/master.htm

• Review Internship Opportunities List and files in the Career Planning Office.

• Contact the Director of Career Planning at ext. 3404 or dspohn@cedarcrest.edu with specific questions.

• Pick up required internship forms in the Career Planning Office:  Contract and Statement of Intent.

• Research internship sites.

• Prepare resume and cover letter.

• Contact potential internship sites.

•  Interview potential sites and secure placement.

• Students must finalize their internship plans.  Students may elect to pursue a self-designed internship with any employer(s) or sites(s) deemed appropriate by their academic advisor. Students are strongly encouraged to be pro-active, creative and involved in designing and arranging internships that best suit their individual interests and career aspirations.  Students may also pursue established internship sites that are listed on the Career Planning Homepage as well as in the Career Planning Office.

Step 3

• Students need to met with their academic advisor to obtain approval of their internship plans and to discuss the number of credit hours they expect to earn from an internship.

• The academic advisor must signify his or her approval of the student's proposal by signing the Internship Contract.

Step 4

• Students must identify and request a faculty member in the same field of study as their proposed internship to serve as their internship faculty supervisor.

• If an internship is done in a field other thant your major, your current advisor must sign the contract, however, the faculty supervisor for the internship must be in the academic department realted to the internship.

Step 5

• Whether a student pursues their own internship or seeks one listed with the Career Planning Office, an Internship Contract signed by the Site Supervisor, Academic Advisor, Faculty Supervisor and Career Planning Director is required before a student may begin an internship.   The signature of the Faculty Supervisor will signify departmental approval of the student’s internship plans.   However, in special circumstances where a student is seeking more than the typical credit load for an internship, as illustrated in the chart below and described in the following 2 sections:  Internship Requirements and Course Credit, and Summer Internships, the signature of the student’s Department Chair is also required on the Internship Contract .  

    Summary of Signatures Required in Sequence on Internship Contract
 
 

Type of Internship	Contract Signatures in sequence
3-6 Credits Fall or Spring             OR 3 Credits Summer	Site Supervisor Academic Advisor Faculty Supervisor Director of Career Planning
6 or more Credits Fall or Spring             OR 3 or more Credits Summer	Site Supervisor Academic Advisor Faculty Supervisor Department Chair Director of Career Planning Additional signatures may be required

Step 6

• Signed Internship Contract must be returned to the Director of Career Planning in the Career Planning Office by the posted deadline for final approval before the internship begins.

Step 7

• Students must register and pay for internship credits as they would for any course sponsored by the College.   The Registrar will not accept registration for an internship without the completed Internship Contract .

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS AND COURSE CREDIT:

A standard internship is typically worth 3 credits.  At the discretion of the faculty supervisor within the student’s department, up to 6 credits may be awarded for an internship.  However, no more than 6 credits may be granted unless pre-approved by the student’s Department Chair adn the Provost.  An internship of more than 6 credits must consist of SIGNIFICANT additional job responsibilities, projects and hours.  Internships are graded Pass/Fail.  Additional signatures may also be required on the Internship Contract.

All interns are required by Career Planning to attend the internship seminar:

• The Internship Preparatory Seminar is held during the first week of semester classes on Wednesday evening from 5:00-6:30pm.
• Summer Preparatory Seminar will be held on the last Wednesday in April.
• These seminars are held in the Career Planning Office in the Allen House, unless otherwise announced.  The specific dates for each semester will be publicized in serveral campus advertisements.
  

Academic credit will be awarded for internships based on successful:

• Completion of the number of contracted work hours.  Credits are awarded based on the following number of minimum hours worked during a 15-week semester:
• 3 credits - a minimum total of 120 hours are required (10 hours/week) for 10-12 weeks
• 6 credits - a minimum total of 240 hours are required (20 hours/week) for 10-12 weeks

• Completion of academic assignments as determined by the Faculty Supervisor in the Internship Contract.  Assignments may include, but are not limited to a Final Paper and/or other internship projects such as Informational Interviews.  Unless otherwise stipulated by the Faculty Supervisor, all assignements are due to the Faculty Supervisor on or before the Evaluation Seminar conducted by the Career Planning Office.

SUMMER INTERNSHIPS:

Students seeking summer internships are eligible for 3–6 credits.   The minimum number of weeks required in a summer internship is 10 weeks.  The student’s Academic Department Chair and the Provost must approve internships of more than 3 credits.  

OTHER RESTRICTIONS:

Students are not permitted to enroll in an internship for credit with a current employer, performing similar job-related tasks, unless new learning projects are assigned.

• Students may only do one internship per semester.
• Students may elect to continue an internship beyond a single semester; however, to earn credit the internship must provide a new or different challenge.
• No retroactive credit can be given to a student seeking credit for a position already completed.
• No hours can be counted toward the internship until the Internship Contract has been approved and the student has registered for the internship credits.
  

EXCEPTIONS TO THE INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENT:

Department Chairs may elect to waive their department's internship requirement in special circumstances including, but not limited to the following:

• In instances where an internship requirement would present a undue hardship for the student. For example, in instances where the student has a physical, emotional, learning or language disability or handicap or a unique personal circumstance that would prevent them from either successfully obtaining, maintaining or completing the requirements of an internship.

• Where the department deems a student to have already satisfied the practical experience requirement of an internship.  For example, through completion of an independent study project requiring fieldwork.

• Students enrolled in the Forensic Science Program are required to complete 240 hours in a 10 week period in the summer semester.