Real-World Experience

Having interns allows talented people to contribute to special projects. Other benefits of sponsoring interns include:

• Providing a source of motivated pre-professionals
• Bringing new perspectives to problems
• A cost-effective way to recruit and evaluate potential employees
• Increasing an employer's visibility among college students
• Enhancing an employer's image in the community by contributing to student education

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) says providing interns with meaningful work is crucial to ensuring the success of your internship program. Interns should be doing challenging work that is recognized by the organization as valuable and that lasts the entire work term.

Everyone, even a supervisor, sometimes must perform routine tasks such as photocopying, delivering mail, and making coffee. However, these tasks do not constitute a professional-level internship. A student intern's duties should include at least 75 percent professional-level responsibilities.

Consider these questions:

• What are our organizational needs?
• What department or work area would benefit from an intern's assistance?
• What kind of projects or tasks could an intern undertake?
• What training do we need to provide?
• What learning opportunities are there for a student?
• Who will be able to supervise and mentor the student?
• How long should the internship last?
• Where will the intern be given space to work at our work site? Will the intern work remotely?

Morehead State University does not require that internships be for academic credit. Some employers require students to receive credit while they intern; others do not.

Employers wishing to pair an internship with a specific academic program or class can contact the Center team for assistance. If an employer has no academic major preference, they can simply write "open to all majors" in the intern job description.

When internships are paired with a class, employers and students must complete various documents for the instructor. These documents vary from class to class but generally include:

• A learning contract: this describes the internship in detail, the relationship between the employer and Morehead State University, and outlines the learning objectives. It also defines the minimum number of clock hours the student is expected to work (and that the employer agrees to provide).
• A mid-term or final evaluation: the employer will evaluate a student's performance. Some classes have their own evaluation document; others will accept an employer's internal evaluation form. Employers should ask the instructor which form is required.

For internships done for academic credit, the instructor will perform all academic functions (e.g., class enrollment and grading). Be aware that students pay tuition to MSU for these classes. Employers are not required to set grading standards, establish credit hours for the work done at the site or give homework to the intern.

Not all academic departments at MSU have an experiential education option. MSU 339- is open to all majors and is taught by Career Services staff.

Employers and instructors should communicate at the beginning and end of the student's internship and throughout the internship period. Regular communication ensures that all parties' expectations are being met and provides for a consistent learning experience for students.

Understanding credit hours

For internships done for credit, there is commonly a 60:1 ratio between on-the-job clock hours and course credit hours. That ratio varies from academic program to academic program. The prospectus or learning contract should clearly state that ratio. When agreeing to pair an internship with a class, the employer agrees to provide the intern with professional-level work assignments to meet the on-the-job clock hour minimum.

If an employer finds they have difficulty providing the agreed-upon hours to the student, they should contact the instructor to explore options.

When a student (through voluntary inaction) does not meet the minimum on-the-job clock hour minimums, they automatically fail the class. If an employer has provided a work schedule meeting the clock hour minimums and the student chooses not to follow that schedule, the employer is not obligated to invent work at the end of a semester for the student to complete their hours.

If an involuntary situation (e.g., illness, death in the family, etc.) prevents a student from completing the on-the-job clock hour requirement, the employer, student, and the instructor should discuss a reasonable solution.

When an intern has unexplained absences, an employer should contact the instructor immediately.

Employers can limit their internships to students in specific majors and may limit internships to students taking a particular class. However, such limitations should be necessities for the job (i.e., the technical skill taught in a program/class is central to the student's ability to perform the required work). In addition, employers may set limits on interns based on class level (i.e., only juniors or seniors will be considered) and a specific minimum GPA.

All other federal, state, and local EEOC and non-discrimination laws/policies apply to interns as they would to regular employees.

Employers should clearly state their internship qualifications in a job description.

Students arrange their work and life plans around the academic calendar. Morehead State University operates on a semester system. The fall semester begins in mid-August and ends in mid-December. The spring semester starts in mid-January and ends in early May.

When creating internships for credit or not, a best practice is to align the start and end date of the internship with Morehead State's academic calendar. This is not a requirement.

Summer is a popular time for students to do internships. Morehead State's academic summer term begins the first week of June and ends the last week of July.

There are academic breaks and extended holidays within each semester, and the last week of each semester is reserved for final exams. 

View academic calendars

Employer expectations regarding scheduled work times should be clear before hiring an intern. For example, suppose an employer expects an intern to work during spring break. In that case, they should indicate that in the internship job description, when interviewing and training the intern.

For students interning for academic credit, when they start work is a joint decision between the employer, the student, and the instructor. For the employer's convenience, some instructors may allow work to begin before the academic term starts. No site work can begin until the learning contract or prospectus is complete, approved and signed by the student, the employer, and the instructor.

All work must be completed by the last day of finals. If the last day of finals is not convenient for the employer or if an unexpected situation with the employer prevents the completion of the internship by the last day of finals, the employer, the student, and the instructor should agree in writing upon a new end date. The student will be given an incomplete grade until all work is graded. Incompletes must be resolved by midterm of the following semester.

The distance between a student's home and an employer's work site is often a key factor in deciding on an internship.

Some employers make accommodations for remote interns. Some employers have offered short-term, local housing or temporary relocation assistance. Other employers have altered work schedules for their interns to reduce the impact of a commute. Employers should call Career Services when a distance intern is being considered for hire.

Morehead State University does not require paid internships, though it is recommended. Please review the United States Department of Labor Fact Sheet #71 to assess federal requirements for unpaid internships.

Employers should also consider the National Association of Colleges and Employers' position statement on unpaid internships.

Paid internships are the most popular with students. Given an internship's financial impact on a student, offering pay is an incentive that will draw applicants to your organization.

Before creating an internship program, employers' human resources officers should assess state and federal worker compensation requirements and other liability issues. If a student is not covered under an employer's workers' insurance policy, MSU strongly recommends that the student purchase health insurance for the term of their internship, as the University does not cover students for liability or injury. We suggest the employer remind the student of this at the beginning of the internship.

A site supervisor should be interested in working with college students, willing to devote extra time to the student, patient, and a good communicator. The supervisor should be available to the student regularly and possess expertise in the area that applies to the internship. Even if the intern rotates through various departments, the employer should designate one supervisor to oversee them. The internship supervisor should have regular conversations with the intern to provide feedback and help them grow. Employers should be aware that academic programs may have specific requirements for supervisors (i.e., that they have a master's degree or a certain minimum number of years of experience). Before agreeing to host an intern for credit, an employer should determine whether the instructor has such requirements.

Job descriptions should describe the intern's specific functions and what they will learn from the internship. The job description should also include details describing the employer's key products, services, or goals. The description should clearly outline what the company or agency does. It can also include the title of the intern's supervisor, how the intern fits into the overall organizational structure, expectations of dress and conduct, requirements for the student to have personal health and liability insurance, and how the intern will be evaluated.

Consider including entertainment options, historical sites, unique features, or group activities employees conduct independently.