What are the Expectations of Interns?

Monitoring and Assessment of the Internship

Monitoring and assessment are an essential part of the formal internship learning experience. The learning contract provides the internship coordinator, mentor, and students the opportunity to redesign the internship at any time, in order to attain the best possible learning experience. Truly effective monitoring and evaluation entail active participation by the intern, employer, and internship coordinator.

Depending on the program, the required number of hours and assignments vary. All interns can expect:

Academic Assignments

This monitoring mode encourages reflection about the learning experience and invites the intern to critically reflect on the experience and to evaluate each learning goal outlined in the internship objectives. This method encourages interns to evaluate their experience in a more analytical manner, especially in relation to the context of other life experiences, their curriculum, and major field of study.

Identified Learning Goals

The learning contract allows the intern to document how, when, how often, with whom, etc., the learning goals are accomplished. The learning contract is a tool to formalize the internship. It includes information such as a description of the internship responsibilities (job description), goals and objectives, and how objectives will be met and assessed. All elements of the learning contract are outlined on paper. This allows students to assess their own progress, as well as allowing the internship supervisor to be able to assess the students. The mentor/supervisor, the intern, and the internship coordinator will sign the learning contract. Each partner will have a clear understanding of the expectations of the experience and what the final results should be.

Midsemester Check-In

The mentor/supervisor, the intern, and the Office of Experiential Learning will closely monitor the progress of the internship through written correspondence, site visits, phone calls, and evaluations.

Final Evaluations

• To be completed by both the intern and supervisor as a way to identify key areas of success
• Identify areas for improvement for the intern and the internship site
• Highlight personal strengths and prescribe solutions for the intern's professional development.