Internship Standards

 

I. Purpose

 

The purpose of the UCM Internship Guidelines is to establish consistent academic processes for student internships at UCM.

 

II. Scope

 

An internship for course credit is a supervised and evaluated field experience that provides students an opportunity to gain relevant knowledge and skills prior to graduation, and generally involves practical application of classroom learning.

 

III. Standards

 

Internships must meet the following requirements:

 

• Must meet and follow federal guidelines as stated in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Department of Labor provides specific guidance for unpaid interns:

 

https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm

 

• Must be approved in advance by the department awarding course credit.

• Student enrolled must be in good standing, in addition to applicable program criteria.

• Internships must be explicitly aligned and assessed as part of program outcomes.

• Interns must be monitored by faculty or UCM supervisors.

• All internships must have a course syllabus.

• Departments and programs may have additional criteria as required.

• Departments provide a census of student internships to the Career and Life Design Center at the end of each academic year.

• Any contracts between Departments and Programs and internship sites must be reviewed by the Office of General Counsel prior to signing.

 

Recommendations:

 

• Programs require a formal, written agreement signed by the student, faculty supervisor, and site supervisor.

• Programs establish minimum eligibility criteria for enrollment in internship hours.

• Programs establish a minimum number of student internship hours worked per credit hour.

• Departments are encouraged to investigate liability issues, and may seek assistance from the Office of General Counsel in determining those issues.

 

 

Revision History:

Approved October 2016

Edited the name of the Office of Legal Affairs and Risk Management to the Office of General Counsel December 2016

Previously annotated as VII.27. Internship Standards. Renamed Internship Standards for alphabetical listing, grammar and spell check, and transitioned into policy library April 2017