Complete a Learning Agreement
IMPORTANT!! You will need to complete the Learning Agreement in order to register and receive credit for your internship. Any questions related to this document should be directed to Melissa Marietta, Career Advisor, extension 4047.
It is your responsibility to fully complete the Lerning Agreement and obtain all signatures by the deadline.
Writing An Internship Learning Agreement
The Internship Learning Agreement serves several purposes:
- acts as a contract for your internship
- provides a reference against which progress can be measured
- provides the basis for evaluation and validation of the learning experiences
- serves as a reminder to student, work supervisor, and faculty supervisor, of the purpose and activities of the internship
The following guidelines should assist you in completing your Learning Agreement. They are presented under the specific headings that appear on the Agreement form. Remember that you must consult with your faculty supervisor and work supervisor in order to complete this form and secure their agreement on the internship.
Student Information
Provide in full all information requested.
Title of Internship
Since this title will appear on your transcript, you should make it as
descriptive as possible. In general, it is better to state the area in which you will be working or your title, e.g., Community Education, Stock Brokerage Asst., Congressional Intern, Physical Therapy, rather than the name of the place where you will be doing the internship. Do not exceed 23 spaces maximum including all letters, punctuation marks, and spaces between words.
Placement
Provide in full, all information requested including specific month, date, and year, full mailing address with zip codes, and telephone area codes. Email and fax are required if available.
Brief Overview of Internship
Give a general description of the internship you will be undertaking.
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives are specific, measurable statements of what you hope to accomplish/learn during the course of the internship. The objectives should be given careful thought and should be discussed with your faculty and work supervisors. Before the internship begins, you, your faculty supervisor and work supervisor will all know what you expect to accomplish/learn in order to receive credit and a grade for the internship. In addition, unexpected changes in your responsibilities (assignments) are sometimes made after the agreement has been approved and you have started the internship.
Some flexibility is needed then to allow for changes in the learning objectives. When changes are made, report them to your faculty supervisor for approval early in the internship. You should do so by completing the Change of Learning Agreement form.
Example: To gain knowledge about how computers are used in bill collection.
Example: To develop an understanding of the psychology used in writing fundraising letters.
Example: To develop skill in interviewing clients at the outpatient unit of the hospital.
Example: To clarify my opinion about the use of behavior modification in the treatment of autistic children.
Learning Activities
The activities you describe here will be directly related to your learning objectives. They will enable you to work toward achieving those objectives and obtain "hands-on" experience in the process.
1. Contact your work supervisor in your confirmed placement. Ask him/her to describe what you will be doing in the internship. Ask questions. Get as many details as possible. Be specific when you write.
2. Meet with your faculty supervisor. Discuss any additional learning activities you will undertake either before, during or after the internship. These may be suggested by either you or your faculty supervisor. Such activities might include relevant readings from a selected bibliography, a review of an appropriate professional journal or an interview or series of interviews with a person in a high-level decision making position on your internship site. State
when you will be undertaking these activities.
Career Development
This section is for your personal professional development. Use this section to honestly address what your professional goals are and how this internship will assist you in furthering your goals. Questions to address include: How does this internship fit into your major? How will you apply what you learn at this internship to furure activities? How will you personally measure the success of this internship?
Academic Activities & Grading
Your faculty supervisor will be responsible for grading your internship. Discuss the evaluation section carefully with your faculty supervisor and be very clear and specific when you write it. It is important that you both understand and agree in advance on how your internship will be evaluated to avoid any misunderstanding later on.
1. Your work supervisor will provide a written evaluation of your internship based on your stated or updated learning objectives. Your faculty supervisor will request some additional form of documentation of the learning that took place in your internship. The documentation requested might include a journal, analytic or descriptive paper, oral presentation or project, etc. Be certain that you describe the type of journal or paper, and the specifications of any project you will be required to submit. Again, discuss this section with your faculty supervisor and be very clear and specific when you write it. State the deadline for submitting all academic requirements.
2. Discuss with you faculty supervisor and then state what percent of the internship grade each component (work supervisor's evaluation, journal, paper, etc.) will be.
3. Ask your faculty supervisor how, and how frequently, you should remain in contact with him/her during the internship. Faculty supervisors are encouraged to initiate a phone call to you and your work supervisor within the first week of a J Term internship or within the first three weeks of a full-semester or summer internship. In addition, you are required to complete a Mid-Term Report on your internship (see Internship Handbook, Part II available in Career Development & Education) and mail it directly to your faculty supervisor. However, additional contact between you is desirable, especially if you have questions regarding any aspect of your internship.
Required Signatures
After you have signed the final typed copy of the Internship Learning Agreement, you must secure the signatures of those listed in the order given. After obtaining the appropriate signatures, submit the Learning Agreement to the Career Advisor for the final signature. The Career Advisor will then submit to the Registrar's Office the names of all students who have turned in Learning Agreements by the posted due date; those students will then be registered for internship credit. A copy of the Learning Agreement will be mailed to your faculty and work supervisors; you should retain a copy for yourself as well.
A Final Word...
The ultimate value of the Internship Learning Agreement lies in the dialogue it will foster between you, your faculty supervisor and your work supervisor about the meaning and quality of your internship. In writing your agreement, you have in effect created the syllabus for your own course in an area of inquiry and high interest to you. You have spelled out what you will do and learn, how you will accomplish this, and how your progress will be evaluated. The effort you have invested in thus defining your internship will reward you in the end with a clear sense of your own competencies and interests, and results that can be translated to future employers.
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