Reviewed August 2009
Field Work
QUALIFYING FACTORS
Awarding Academic Unit Credit for Internships
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I. FIELD WORK/ INTERNSHIPS THAT QUALIFY FOR ACADEMIC UNIT CREDIT
Students receive academic unit credit for field work by meeting the academic prerequisites for the course work, complying with UC Davis Academic Senate guidelines and HCD internship policies and enrollment procedures, and by meeting the registration/enrollment ADD deadlines for variable unit course work, as outlined by the Registrar's Office, UC Davis. Academic internships offer students opportunities to work in association with full-time professional supervisors in the public sector where professional guidance can contribute to students' personal, academic, and career goals. Central to the educational purpose of the internship is the notion that students contact and work with professional administrators or educators in agencies, organizations, or schools, on projects that they would not directly encounter in the course of their formal academic training or through traditional extra-curricular activities on campus.
II. FIELD WORK/INTERNSHIPS ARE SCREENED FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALIFYING FACTORS
2. Does the field placement provide opportunities for the student to apply academic theory in the field?
3. Does the student have other background experience that will help to ensure their success in the field?
2. Will students experience significant intellectual growth as a result of the internship and the associated academic work?
3. Will faculty sponsors be able to assess the quality of academic work completed by the student?
2. Will the assigned work contribute to the student's understanding of abilities, knowledge, and skills associated with careers requiring a B.S. or M.S. degree?
2.Does the field supervisor have an educational background that supports the transfer of information in the areas of expected skills, knowledge, and abilities normally associated with professional-level work in this field?
3. Is the field supervisor willing and able to provide the intern
with a minimum of one-half an hour of one-one supervision and/or training
per week and to ensure job duties and project assignments of a professional
nature?
Appropriate job duties are those assignments normally carried out by professional-status employees within the hosting agency or school. Interns are not to work in an unsupervised environment and exclusively secretarial, clerical, or paper-correcting work is not considered appropriate (although some involvement in routine work of an agency or school is legitimate). Minimum qualifications of field supervisors include: 1) related academic training, 2) appropriate work experience in the field, 3) ability to teach/convey ideas, and 4) a willingness to share their time and knowledge with interns.
F. Has the student met with their potential internship supervisor (the person who will supervise and evaluate their work in the field)? Has the student inquired about the specifics of the internship (job duties, working hours, etc.) BEFORE accepting the placement? If the student has accepted an internship field placement, have they also participated in (jointly) filling out the "To be Completed by the Field Supervisor & Student," section of the contract?
G. Has the student received prior approval (before starting the internship) from a university-authorized HCD faculty sponsor whose research interests and/or academic expertise is related to the focus of the internship and appropriate for assignment and evaluation of required academic work? "Prior approval," means the student has met with a faculty person to discuss the proposed field placement, number of units requested, and the field placement's educational value. "Prior approval," is designated by the faculty person filling out and signing the page of the work plan (contract) titled, "To be Completed by Faculty Sponsor and Student."
H. After the work plan (contract) has been completed and signed by the student, field supervisor, and faculty sponsor, then it is the student's responsibility to turn in the contract to the HCD internship coordinator and collect the CRN#. Completed contracts (signed by field supervisors, students, and faculty sponsors) are required to be on file in the Department of HCD internship office, 1332 Hart Hall, BEFORE students begin their field work hours (internships).
I. It is the student's responsibility to turn in a completed contract, collect the related CRN#, and to enroll before the Registrar's ADD deadline, via RSVP.
The HCD internship coordinator and the campus Internship and Career Center coordinators have developed (pre-screened) field placements (internships) for undergraduate and graduate students. If students and/or faculty choose to develop additional placements, then the students and/or faculty must assume responsibility for initiating and conducting the preliminary screening of these potential internship sites. Screening can begin by using the "Qualifying Factors," listed earlier in this flier.
Please note: One overall goal of setting up internships for academic unit credit, is to create a "win-win-win" relationship between the student, organization, and faculty sponsor. Successful internships are ones where students, organizations, and faculty sponsors all benefit from the arrangement at hand.
When students or faculty develop their own internships the following elements need to be included.
2. A written description of the proposed internship must be submitted to the HCD internship coordinator, accompanied by a letter (on letterhead stationary) from the field supervisor describing the student intern's duties, responsibilities, hours, the supervisor's expectations, and the supervisor's professional status (career position or title within the hosting agency, organization, or school).
3. Students and faculty are asked to provide supplementary information for the HCD internship coordinator in the way of business cards from potential field supervisors, organizational descriptions, program brochures, and/or project fliers. This type of information is used in determining whether or not an internship qualifies for academic unit credit.
4. Internships for academic unit credit require prior review and approval by the HCD internship coordinator. The coordinator reviews potential internships for the "Qualifying Factors," listed earlier, initiates and oversees the completion of any adjustments that may be needed, and follows through to see that all required contract paper work is completed and on file in the HCD Department, BEFORE students start their field work hours.
2. Work (paid or not paid) that is not educational in nature and will not be a learning/growth experience for the student.
3. Work that is not related to the student's college major and/or not related to the student's career goals.
4. Work not directly supervised by an educationally qualified, experienced, professional in the field.
5. Work begun BEFORE the student has met with a faculty sponsor, developed an academic work plan in writing, and secured the faculty sponsor's signature on the academic work plan (contract).
6. Work begun BEFORE completion of the required HCD contract and
its submission to the department internship office.
Sharon McDonell, Internship Developer/ Placement Interviewer - CRD, HDE, & IAD Internships
1332 Hart Hall, University of California, Davis 95616 Tel. 530/752-1321
Email: hcdinternships@ucdavis.edu
This page was last updated on Nov 17, 2000