Individualized Study

Academic Internships

An academic internship is a work and learning experience shaped by reflection and goal-setting and performed under the mentorship of an instructor and an on-site supervisor. These internships earn academic credits and often a letter grade, although some departments assign a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grade. Internship courses will be listed as 197, 297, 397, or 497.

Academic internships may be taken for 1-3 credits (additional credits may be approved for different goals/learning objectives for a maximum of 9 credits). Below are the minimum requirements for any internship that students seek to have recorded on the academic transcript. Departments may have requirements in addition to these minimums.

1. Establish written goals/learning objectives to be approved by both faculty internship coordinator and workplace supervisor prior to the start of the internship
2. A minimum of 40 hours per registered credit hour; hours must be logged and approved by workplace supervisor. (Departments may have requirements beyond this minimum.)
3. A portfolio must be completed and submitted to the faculty member supervising the internship following the completion of the internship (the due date will be determined by the department or faculty supervisor; it must be prior to finals week of the semester following the completion of the internship):
   1. Portfolio must include:
      1. Goals/learning objectives as established in item I;
      2. Updated resume reflecting skills and knowledge acquired as a result of the internship;
      3. Verification by supervisor of hours worked;
      4. Final performance evaluation or letter of recommendation from the workplace supervisor.
   2. Portfolio may also include when applicable (as determined by the department):
      1. Cover letter;
      2. Examples of work produced during the internship;
      3. Copy of midterm evaluation submitted to Career Center by site supervisor.
4. In addition, students must submit at least one of the following items. (Departments may have requirements in addition to this minimum.)
   1. Reflection on the goals/learning outcomes achieved as a result of the internship experience or a paper connecting the internship experience to general education and major course requirements (5-7 pages)
   2. Journal kept throughout the internship experience
   3. Presentation or poster

Please refer to the Career Center website for internship resources and a checklist of procedures.

Individualized Study of a Catalogued Course

In the event that a student should need to take individualized study of a catalogued course, the following actions should be taken.

1.  First the student should meet with the academic advisor to determine what other options exist.
2. If the advisor determines that the student should pursue an independent study, the student and the advisor will meet with the chair of the department in which the desired course is housed to determine if a faculty member is available to conduct the individualized study. The department chair may decide that no one should do an individualized study due to other departmental demands, if it does not interfere with the student's ability to graduate. If the department chair approves moving forward, the chair will contact the faculty member(s) to gauge interest in doing an individualized study.
3. In the event that a faculty member agrees to teach the individualized study, the faculty member will work with the student to develop a learning contract, available from the Records Office, which will specify the following:
   1. Course objectives and the criteria / rubrics that will be used to evaluate whether these objectives are met.
   2. Course name, description and credit hours
   3. Text(s) to be used
   4. Meeting times, contact hours, assignments, and exams
4. The student will then submit the learning contract along with a petition to the Registrar.
   1. This petition should address the need for taking the individualized study as well as an explanation as to why the student cannot complete the degree plan without the individualized study. The primary reason for arranging individualized studies is to assist students who would otherwise not be able to graduate on time. Students will need to demonstrate that they have made a good faith effort to arrange their graduation plan without individualized study.
   2. This petition must be approved by the academic advisor, the department chair in which the course is housed, the faculty member identified for teaching the independent study, and the Registrar, who will confirm both the need for the individualized study as well as that the learning contract demonstrates that the individualized study will be substantially the same as a course taught in a regular class format.
   3. The Provost then will review the petition and will make the final decision regarding approval of the petition. The decision of the Provost is not appealable.