Internship Programs Policy

To establish the expectations and requirements for university-sponsored internship programs as a form of experiential learning that integrates academic study with  supervised learning in professional or community settings.

Date	Version Number	Change Description	Referenced Section
May 1983	1.0	New Document	Entire Document
c. 2006	1.1	Minor Revisions
11/28/16	1.2	Minor Revisions
1/2/17	1.3	Minor Revisions
3/14/17	1.4	Minor Revisions
7/19/18	1.5	Minor Revisions
9/10/26	1.6	Minor Revisions

 Review Process / Approval

Action:	Units	Date
Policy Review	Provost/VP of Academic Affairs Management Services
Policy Approval	Adopted by the Faculty Senate Approved by the President	Action #216 May 1983

All SUNY Plattsburgh students.

Internship:  A supervised applied learning experience that integrates academic learning with practical experience in a professional or community setting. An internship may be credit-bearing or non-credit-bearing, and may be paid or unpaid.

Faculty Sponsor: The faculty sponsor shall develop a written agreement with the internship site or host organization  sponsor. This agreement shall define the roles and responsibilities of each party. The internship site or host organization shall provide appropriate supervision of the students’ internship activities and evaluate the students’ performance.

Requirements
1. A student receiving academic credit for an internship must have a faculty sponsor and a site supervisor.

2. Students earning academic credits for an internship shall complete approximately three hours of internship activities per week during a standard 15-weeks semester for each academic credit hour awarded. Internships may be full or part time, paid or unpaid depending upon the nature of the placement.

3. The specific field duties and responsibilities of the intern will be agreed to by the faculty sponsor, internship site supervisor, and the intern, and shall be documented in the learning contract.

4. Specific academic requirements appropriate to the internship shall be established by the faculty sponsor  and documented in the learning contract.

Eligibility
1. Students seeking credit for an internship must have junior, senior or graduate class standing. Sophomores who demonstrate strong maturity may enroll in an internship for academic credit with instructor approval.

2. The minimum GPA for participation in an internship shall be established by the sponsoring department. Departments may establish prerequisite courses and minimum GPA in these courses prior to the commencement of an internship.

Internship Credit
1. Course credit — Interns will be enrolled under a department course — DEPT. 498 (or 598) Internship — Title. Students may take internships for major, minor, concentration or elective credit. Course credit ranges from 1 credit to a maximum of 15. Departments/programs should establish policies on the number of internship credits to meet major, minor or concentration requirements. Failure to complete all requirements of an internship will lead to an incomplete (policy pertaining to I grades will apply), or an unsatisfactory/failing grade will be given by the faculty sponsor.

2. Credit towards the Baccalaureate Degree — Usually, the total number of credits awarded for internships may not exceed 18 toward the fulfillment of the credits required for graduation. The suggested limit of 18 credits does not include any credit taken by interns in related studies such as a seminar that may be taken in tandem with the internship (see below for credit). More than 18 hours may be earned if the hours beyond the limit are considered "add-on" credit beyond the hours required for graduation.

3. Credit Hours — It is recommended that credits be awarded for internships according to the following formula (assuming an internship of 13–16 weeks):

Hours Per Week	Credits
3–4	1
9–10	3
18–20	6
27–30	9
36–40	12–15

 

4. Evaluation of the Internship for Credit — Students taking an internship for credit are required to prepare a learning contract (see sample contract) spelling out the specific learning objectives for the internship. Academic credit is awarded for the documented learning achieved through the internship experience, rather than for participation in the work experience itself. Students are to provide satisfactory evidence during the course of or at the conclusion of the semester that the academic objectives of the internship were fulfilled. The evidence may include: written projects, journals, research papers, annotated bibliographies, critical evaluations, etc.

Learning Contract

The learning contract is an essential component of the determination of academic credit and viability of the internship placement. Just as students do not receive credit solely for attending a course, they do not receive credit solely for performing duties of an internship. Learning contract identifies the learning objectives, learning activities, resources, and methods for evaluating student learning.

a. The content of the internship: the nature of the internship, including regular duties, projects, assignments, and other responsibilities.

b. The educational goals and objectives: why is this internship being undertaken, what does the student intend to learn, how can this internship relate to the student’s major or other course work?

c. Method of evaluation of educational objectives and student performance: assessment of student learning and performance. The methods of evaluation may include several of the following:

• Evaluation by internship site supervisor as to the level of task performance;
• On-site visits;
• Periodic meetings with student, contact by phone or email;
• Reading lists;
• Research project related to position description and stated objectives of student;
• Written reports or papers
• Oral examination;
• Journal;
• Student reflection or analysis of the experience;
• Portfolios; and
• Grading

The faculty sponsor shall determine the grading method. Letter grades and/or pass/fail may be assigned. The determination of the method for grading should be made at the start of the internship.

None

Additional Resources

SUNY PLATTSBURGH AFFILIATION AGREEMENTS

Method	Date
Campus Handbook	N/A
Faculty / Staff Digest	N/A
Student Digest	N/A
Other	N/A

There are no specific trainings identified with this policy.