Establishing a Work Integrated Learning Experience

Internships, Cooperative Education and other experiences for academic credit are different than a job.  The purpose of "Work Integrated Learning Experiences" is to provide the student with a chance to apply academic skills and knowledge in a real world setting. This means that they will be working with a faculty member completing assignments at the college while working for you.

Therefore, a few administrative details must be in place prior to a student registering for academic credit.  PDF’s of these forms can be found here.

a job description must be submitted to the college

• You can hire any student you want to hire without any approval from the college
• Before a student can be permitted to enroll for academic credit, however, a job description must be submitted to and approved through the Cooperative Education Program located in the Career Services Office or the appropriate department.  We will make sure that the right department gets the information.
• Once a position has been approved, it will remain in place for the possible use of another student.
• Post the position on The Skyhawks’ Job Source if you are seeking an employee.

Student Employer Work Agreement – This form documents the internship for the college and for you.  We use the time to help determine the number of credits for which the student may enroll.

Once the position has been approved and the student is enrolled for credit, there should be a seamless transition to work.  The only additional item that we request from you as an employer is to evaluate the student twice during their experience.  Evaluation forms will be sent to you for this purpose.

There are some additional things for you to consider when seeking an intern.  The same considerations you would make for a regular employee should be carried over to internships.

• Have a work station for the student/employee
• Provide orientation to your business or organization
• Assign a supervisor and/or mentor to whom the student can go for assistance
• Provide challenging work tasks
• Make sure the student/employee is clear about their duties