Defining an Internship
Nazareth considers employers to be educational partners: mentoring students, teaching real-world skills and preparing graduates to enter the job market.
To ensure that an internship is a "guided learning experience", and thus eligible to be considered legitimate for academic credit, the following criteria must be met. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) gives us a great definition:
An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional workplace setting (across in-person, remote, or hybrid modalities). Internships provide students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience, develop social capital, explore career fields, and make connections in professional fields.
To ensure that an experience — whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually — is educational, all of the following criteria must be met:
- The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the 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.
- The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
- The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description that details intern responsibilities and desired qualifications.
- There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student's academic coursework.
- There is supervision by an employed member of the organization with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience. Due to potential conflict of interest, direct daily supervision should not be completed by a family member or relative.
- There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
- There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
*Students earning academic credit for internships must be at sites that are not in a private residence or attached to a personal home.
Non-Traditional Internships
Unpaid Internships at For-Profit Companies
For-profit internship sites offering unpaid internships should construct their internship position so that it is primarily for the benefit of the student and focused on pre-professional tasks designed to increase student learning (and not predominately of administrative tasks). All sites are encouraged to read the Guidelines for Internships: The Unpaid Intern Test and this position statement about compensation and student learning issued by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Virtual/Remote Internships
If a virtual internship is established, here are some components that should be in place:
- A clear, detailed position description which covers all expectations and which outlines what will constitute a "successful" internship
- Use of an online project management tool ‐ Office 365, Google Docs, or a similar program. This will allow the supervisor to go online and monitor the work which is supposed to be completed. The work is stored in the "cloud" (not on a single PC) so it is always available to those who need it to work on or review.
- A daily email report where the student provides information such as hours worked, challenges or problems encountered, results obtained, and any questions they may have.
- A weekly virtual meeting on Zoom, Google Meet, or similar technology. If that is impossible, then at least a phone conversation. This meeting may be used to affirm the student, correct any issues, and catch up personally.
- If the virtual internship is "local" (the site is not far from campus, but the employer says the student can work remotely) the employer must meet with the student in a public place or in the organization’s office at least once per week. This face‐to‐face meeting is a time for project planning, review of progress made, feedback, etc.
*Standard requirements for earning three credits in the Nazareth internship course also apply.