Administration rethinks awarding CAS credit for internships
By Anna Walters
UP may soon reconfigure the way credit is awarded to student interns and broaden the university's sphere of influence when it comes to internships.
UP Provost Br. Donald Stabrowksi, C.S.C., and the deans of the various schools met with Career Services in September to discuss possible changes to the internship program.
According to Stabrowski, the deans were "somewhat surprised" that students were offered general College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) credit for an internship that fell outside the scope of their majors.
The CAS credit option originated two years ago when Ken Koopmans, internship coordinator for Career Services, collaborated with former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Marlene Moore. Koopmans and Moore wanted to find a way to award students credit for internships that fell outside of their majors and ultimately decided to offer a CAS credit option.
"I don't like the idea of lining up jobs and majors," Koopmans said. "I think they are separate."
Within the current system, students can earn credit for their internships either through the department of their major or through the College of Arts and Sciences.
In other words, if students' internships are related to their majors, it is likely they will receive credit within a specific discipline. If a student has an unrelated internship, she may be able to earn general CAS credit that will be applied as upper-division elective credit.
Koopmans supervises all CAS credit internships and some others that fall within a certain discipline. For instance, if no instructor in the English department can be found to supervise a student's English-related internship, and the department head approves, Koopmans takes on the case.
Stabrowski describes the CAS credit option as a temporary fix, but not a viable long-term solution.
"It's something we did because we didn't know what to call it," he said.
Stabrowski considers an internship invaluable practical experience and encourages students to seek out internships related to their fields of study. But he stresses the importance of finding an internship that fits with a student's curriculum and degree.
Senior Amy Oliveria, a communication major, received credit for her internship with Bill Reed, UP's events director, last spring through the Department of Communication Studies. Although Oliveria was pleased to get credit that she could directly apply to her major, she thinks that the CAS internship credit is a worthwhile option.
"The sad fact is students aren't going to do things unless there's a motive. Having that credit in place (generates) more student interest in internships," she said. "I think that cutting that credit away would make the school's internship program suffer."
Jessica Shaw, a junior organizational communication major, interned over the summer in Colville, Wash.
She said she tried to get credit for her internship through the business school, but received CAS credit instead.
Although Shaw thinks that credit is a definite motivation for some students to pursue internships, she said she would have interned even if no credit was offered.
"I learned a lot in that internship - more than I would have learned in a class," Shaw said.
Senior Reneé Dornan, a communication major, also valued the practical experience her summer job as a procurement intern with the Seattle Mariners afforded her.
"I don't want to be a buyer when I grown up, but then again, I did get to meet the General Manager of the Mariners and Chuck Armstrong, the CEO of the Mariners," Dornan said.
Dornan thinks credit of any kind is helpful for the typical student who is usually academically overburdened. The communication credit Dornan received for her internship allowed her to take a lighter course-load this semester while she works on her capstone project.
Another way the administration may alter the internship program is by developing more opportunities for students. Stabrowski would like Career Services to facilitate more connections with companies and organization within the community, thereby broadening internship options within the students' majors.
Stabrowski said that if the changes are made, students who want to earn credit for internships unrelated to their majors might receive credit, but not necessarily upper-division credit.
"We'd find a way to make it work on a pretty low level," he said.
According to Koopmans, expanding the internship program will hopefully attract more student participation.
"The idea is to have more people graduate with internship experience," Koopmans said. "If you do an internship, you figure out what you do and do not like about a job."
Failing to secure an internship while attending college can often be detrimental to a student's career search after graduation, Koopmans said. He thinks that students often put off getting an internship because they fear the future.
"They avoid it, and it's the worst thing they can do," Koopmans said. "Graduation comes along and not only do they have no experience, but they have no idea what they want to pursue."
