GUIDELINES FOR INTERNSHIPS AND PRACTICUMS

Internships taken for credit at Lake Forest College are off-campus learning experiences integrated into the academic program of students enrolled in a liberal arts curriculum. Although the specific nature of internship experiences will vary, the faculty intends that internships should clarify the relationship between traditional liberal arts study and work in non-academic settings. We intend to foster the application of theoretical training to the wider environment of the workplace. These guidelines are intended as minimum criteria that allow individuals significant latitude. Within these guidelines, departments may establish requirements that are appropriate for the discipline of the specific internship. Any internship agreement that transfers or assigns liability exposure to the College must be reviewed first with the Vice President for Business Affairs by the Internship Supervisor, the Director of the Center for Chicago Programs, or the Director of the Career Advancement Center.

I. Internships must apply or expand skills or knowledge learned at Lake Forest College.

  1. Internships will be open to juniors or seniors. In special circumstances, to be determined by the Internship Supervisor and the Director of the Center for Chicago Programs, sophomores may be allowed to do internships.
  1. To prevent any potential conflicts of interest, students must disclose any familial relationships with employees of the organization at which they wish to intern. No interning student may work for a company owned or managed, fully or in part, by a family member. The on-site supervisor may not be a member of the intern’s family or anyone working under the supervision of a family member.
  1. Continuation of part-time or summer jobs may not serve as internships.
  1. A student will not normally receive more than three internship credits toward the total number of credits necessary for graduation (not including foreign internship credit). A maximum of two credits will be awarded for each internship. In addition, any student seeking a total of more than two internship credits must show that not more than two credits will be for internship experiences that are similar in terms of skills or knowledge learned or applied.
  1. For each credit approximately 150 hours of on-the-job experience will be required. The number of hours may be reduced if the internship involves significantly more written or creative work, as required by the Internship Supervisor.
  2. Internships will be graded Credit/D/F.
  1. Internship proposals must have the approval of the student’s advisor, the Internship Supervisor, and the Director of the Center for Chicago Programs.
  1. Commission-based internships will not be approved for academic credit.

II. For an internship, a student will be required to do the following:

  1. Meet with the appropriate Internship Supervisor the semester prior to the internship.
  1. Read these “Guidelines for Internships and Practicums” and complete the “Request for Internship Approval” following the Internship Supervisor’s advising session and before registration.
  1. Register for their internship before the end of the drop/add deadline. Letters from the on-site supervisor must also be submitted to the Internship Supervisor by the end of the drop/add period.
  1. Write a list of goals and objectives of the proposed internship for the Internship Supervisor’s review and approval.
  1. Reflect upon the internship experience by completing a special assignment given by the Internship Supervisor two weeks before the end of the semester. The reflective assignment will be completed by the student and turned in no later than noon of the first day of finals for that semester to the Supervisor of her or his Internship, who will evaluate it and send it on tothe Director of Internships by the end of the finals period. The students will be advised that ifthey fail to turn in the reflective assignment, they cannot receive higher than a grade of D for the internship. Assignments should cover topics such as a description of the duties performed, the relevance of the student’s previous academic training to the internship, and the role the internship played in the student’s academic program.
  1. Complete a substantial paper, a project, or a study on issues related to the internship, as assigned by the Internship Supervisor. Work performed for the employer such as research projects, computer programs, or newspaper articles may form the basis of this requirement.

III. The on-site supervisor of the internship must understand and accept that interns are earning academic credit and consequently must perform duties that apply or expand skills or knowledge learned at Lake Forest College.

  1. There will be one person designated to serve as on-site supervisor.
  1. The onsite supervisor must submit to the Internship Supervisor a letter that offers the student an internship and includes a written job description explaining the duties the intern will perform. The letter must be on letterhead stationery and must be signed by the onsite supervisor.
  1. The on-site supervisor must meet regularly with the intern to evaluate the intern’s progress and to assess the appropriateness of the intern’s duties, reporting this information to the Internship Supervisor at least monthly.
  1. At the end of the internship, the on-site supervisor must submit to the Internship Supervisor a written evaluation of the student’s performance. The evaluation must include a description of the duties performed by the intern as well as the intern’s level of performance and progress during the internship.

IV. The Internship Supervisor must maintain regular contact with the intern and the intern’s on-site supervisor. Throughout the course of the internship, the Internship Supervisor must be available to the intern and to the on-site supervisor, either in-person, by telephone, or e-mail. The Director of Internships will maintain a master list of the Internship Supervisors, the on-site supervisors, and the students assigned to them.

V. At the end of each semester all students who have completed internships for credit will be required to evaluate the experience. Students will receive notification from the Director of Internships two weeks before the end of classes, and advised of the procedure for completing the evaluation form. The evaluation must be completed by the student and turned in to the Dean of Faculty Office no later than noon of the first day of finals for that semester. The student will be advised that ifshe or he fails to turn in the evaluation form, she or he cannot receive higher than a grade of D for the internship. A coded label will be used to identify the student. Only the Dean of Faculty Office and the Director of the Center for Chicago Programs (CCP)/Director of Internships and the Coordinator of the CCP, will have access to the identity of the evaluator. The evaluations will be kept in the Dean of Faculty Office or in the office of the Director of Internships. Faculty supervisors and chairpersons of the department in which the credit is being awarded, may see the evaluations only after the grades have been submitted to the Registrar’s office.

(Approved by the Faculty, April 11, 1984, amended May 8, 1992, March 3, 1993, April 4, 2001, June 25, 2004, and September 14, 2007)