Academic Internships
Academic Internships are supported by the Office of Community Engaged Learning by connecting faculty to institutional infrastructure and support to colleges to sustain and scale academic internships. It assists instructors, faculty, and staff with compliance, resources, and best practices related to academic internships.
An academic internship is a high-impact learning experience that engages students in meaningful opportunities, integrating knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a business, non-profit, or government professional setting. A high-quality internship includes collaborative community partners that provide mentoring, to help students achieve personal and professional growth, and skill development to gain a competitive advantage in the global workforce. Students earn course credit for academic internships, and they can be paid or unpaid by the host organization.
Executive Order (EO) 1064 outlines system-wide policy requirements, including:
1. Internship Planning
2. Placement Assessment
3. Internship Site Visits
4. Placement and Orientation
5. Annual Review
The partnership development process includes initiation, screening, execution, and maintenance steps to build and sustain internship, service learning, and other community engagement sites. Please contact the Office of Community Engaged Learning so that we can assist you in this development process.
Academic programs that require fieldwork or internship experience as part of the course requirement need to memorialize the agreement with the internship site through a placement agreement. The agreement secures the student’s access to the site and ensures that the site’s personnel will supervise the student and provide a meaningful experience. The agreement also defines the relationship between the University, the site, and the student.
An agreement between the University and the internship site is necessary for all unpaid internship placements for academic credit, as well as internships that the University is responsible for coordinating or for which the University provides academic credit.
Contact Contract Services for more information.
CSUSB is supportive of academic internships that enhance the academic experience and support the needs of the community. One concern associated with academic internship experiences that include academic credit is student safety. Long-term and short-term agreements between CSUSB and community organizations must include understanding and adherence to risk management issues. Eligibility for liability coverage requires course enrollment and an active agreement with the host site. For more information, contact the Risk Management Office.
Throughout the semester, students may encounter issues at their internship site or faculty might suspect internship sites not meeting expectations.
Communications Protocols for Student Complaints
Student interns are encouraged to bring issues or complaints to their internship site supervisor and/or internship instructor as early as possible. Many issues can be resolved informally if brought up early. Interns are encouraged to contact the following personnel with issues and/or complaints:
Interns first point of contact for issues and complaints is their internship instructor. Every attempt will be made to reach a resolution through informal discussion and negotiation. If necessary, site supervisors will be included in these discussions.
If the issues and/or complaints cannot be resolved in consultation with their internship instructor, the issue can be escalated to a department and/or college internship director/coordinator or the department chair. One of them should step in to meet with the student, along with the internship instructor (and site supervisor if relevant).
If the issue cannot be resolved, the student intern can be removed from the internship site and documentation of the issue will be retained by the Academic Internships Office. Departments with students active at the internship site will also be informed of the issue and recommended to check in with the student intern and/or site supervisor.
*Documentation of all communications should be maintained by the internship instructor.
Process for Addressing Complaints: Internship site supervisors might contact internship instructors to address concerns with a student intern, or vice versa. The following procedure can be used to assist in mediating an issue between the student intern and internship site.
Gather information from the internship site.
Gather information from the student intern.
Check in with the internship site supervisor and student intern.
Conduct a Site Visit if needed.
Complete a Performance Improvement Plan if needed.
Follow up and determine if additional action steps are needed. Interns should first report to their instructor, escalating to college-level if unresolved. Faculty should document all communications and follow up using the performance improvement plan if necessary.
Internships are recognized as High-Impact Practices when aligned with Kuh’s eight key characteristics. These practices improve student engagement and learning outcomes.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) describes high impact practices or HIPS as teaching and learning experiences that are “based on evidence of significant educational benefits for students who participate in them—including and especially those from demographic groups historically underserved by higher education. These practices take many different forms, depending on learner characteristics and on institutional priorities and contexts.” High-Impact Practices | AAC&U.
At CSUSB, we recognize internships as HIPS when they align with the eight key characteristics identified by Kuh (2013). When incorporated into academic internships, these characteristics enhance student engagement and create a meaningful impact on their learning.
We are dedicated to tracking student participation in academic internships while exploring both their benefits and the challenges they present. We advocate for a comprehensive approach to assessment, combining qualitative and quantitative methods - including surveys, focus groups, interviews, student-generated photos, narratives, and reflecdtions.
FAQ for Faculty
Learning Site Agreements are required when an unpaid internship provides academic credit. The agreement must define expectations of both the campus and the learning site. Contact Procurement and Contracts to initiate a new agreement.
Each college or department may maintain a list of learning sites with current agreements. Contact Procurement and Contracts to determine if a learning site has a current agreement. Different agreements may be needed for the same site depending on the nature of the work being done at the site.
In person site visits are not always required. It is recommended to visit a new internship site to develop rapport with the internship site supervisor and strengthen relationships with community partners. Site visits can be conducted using the Learning Site Self Assessment Form. If a student reports a safety, interpersonal, or professional behavior issue, it is recommended the internship faculty conduct a site visit.
Students need to provide emergency contact information to the internship instructor or department and complete the CSUSB release of liability form before starting their internship. Forms can be submitted and stored by the internship instructor. We also recommend that students and internship site supervisors complete a learning contract, mid-semester evaluation, and end of semester evaluation. Any additional forms are up to the discretion of the internship instructor.
Depending on your department, some departments have a list of approved internship sites. Visit your department's internship website for information or speak with a college or department internship director/coordinator for information specific to your department.
You can also refer students to the internship resources from the Career Center or the Academic Internship page on the Office of Community Engaged Learning site.